Tom Kitchin’s pancake day recipes

For me though, pancakes aren’t just great on Shrove Tuesday. In our house, pancakes are a staple for simple suppers, brunches or as a sweet treat.

They are so versatile, I wonder why anyone would make pancakes just once a year. They’re a quick and easy meal when you’re pushed for time as you don’t need a lot of ingredients. They can make a thoroughly tasty, cheap and satisfying dinner for the whole family. What’s more, pancakes can be so much fun to make and everyone can get involved.

Pancakes are our secret for cheering the kids up. They can’t help but have fun making them and the reward at the end is always worth it. They can help with the mixture, adding the ingredients or fillings, and as they get a little older, you can challenge them to try a flip. It’s a great way to start teaching them some real basics of cooking.

We often have pancakes for dinner. You can use up odds and ends in the fridge or cupboards by adding them to your pancakes. The right ingredients can form a pretty healthy meal and the mixture keeps really well in the fridge. Use it up over a couple of nights to make it even more economical. Get some additional fibre in the meal by adding buckwheat or wholemeal flour – the kids will never notice.

Everything from salmon, vegetables or cheese work well in savoury pancakes, while sweeter versions can be a good way to use up seasonal fruits and berries. We often use this as a way of getting our boys to eat all their dinner with the promise of sweet pancakes with their favourite toppings the following evening. If your kids are anything like mine, it’ll work every time.

Pancakes can also make a pretty sophisticated dinner, snack or even brunch for grown-ups. Pancakes, galettes, crêpes, blinis – they all use the same foundation recipe and can be elegant and delicious. The trick is to think carefully about what you add to them, and about how you’re presenting them.

We enjoy making pancakes for Sunday brunch when we have a day off. We always make an effort to sit down and eat together in the morning, and having everyone making their own pancakes or choosing their own ingredients is ideal. I created this wonderful pancake twist on a traditional British breakfast dish, which is really fun to make.

No matter what ingredients you add, which occasion you enjoy them on, or what time of day you eat them, the essence of a good pancake is all in the foundation recipe – and, of course, your flipping technique. Get over the fear factor when flipping, or turning, the pancakes. My recommendation is always resign yourself to knowing that the first one usually never works, so just try to relax and have fun with it.

The real secret to great, delicious pancakes is in finding a good-quality frying pan, otherwise they will never work. You need one that is smooth with an unscratched surface. The trick is to get the pancake mix nice and thin in the pan, and make sure you use a spatula to help you turn it. If you can start to enjoy pancakes throughout the year, and not just for Pancake Day, you’ll have perfected them in no time.

Breakfast Pancake

Serves one

knob of butter

4 sautéed button mushrooms

1 egg