Italian Baked Pancakes With Cheese And Tomato

INGREDIENTS

Pancake Batter (makes 8 )
125g (5ozs) flour
pinch salt
2 eggs
125ml (4fl ozs) milk
125ml (4fl ozs) water
15g (½ oz) butter, melted
sunflower oil for greasing the frying pan

Tomato Sauce
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, sliced finely
4 cloves of garlic, crushed or finely grated
salt, pepper and sugar
2 tins of chopped tomatoes or 900g (2lbs)
peeled and chopped red ripe tomatoes
3 tablespoons torn basil leaves

Filling
150g (6ozs) ball of mozzarella, grated
150g (6ozs) ricotta
25g (1oz) finely grated Parmesan cheese
25g (1oz) finely grated Parmesan cheese

METHOD

First make the pancakes.
1. Place the flour and salt in a bowl.
2. Make a well and the centre and drop the eggs
into the centre.
3. Then starting to whisk the eggs, add in the
milk and water gradually whisking all the time,
until the batter is smooth and free of lumps.
4. Add in the melted butter and set aside.
5. The batter can sit like this in the fridge for 24
hours.

Next make the tomato sauce.
1. Place the olive oil in a wide saucepan, add the
onion and garlic, season with salt and pepper
then cover and cook on a low heat until the
onions are completely soft.
2. Add the tomatoes and half of the basil, leave
uncovered and cook for about 20 minutes until
the tomatoes are soft and the sauce has
thickened.
3. Add the remaining herbs, season to taste.
4. While the tomato sauce is cooking you can
cook the pancakes. Place a frying pan on a high
heat and allow to get very hot.
5. Pour the batter into a jug for easy pouring.
Wipe the frying pan with an oiled piece of kitchen
paper.
6. Pour in just enough batter to cover the base of
the pan, it will start to cook as soon as it hits the
pan so swirl it around the base immediately.
7. Cook it on a high heat for a ½ – 1 minute until
it\'s golden brown around the edge.
8. Using a fish slice or palette knife, carefully but
quickly flip the pancake over (you might need to
take the pancake off the heat while you do this)
and cook on the second side for another ½ - 1
minute until golden brown.
9. Remove to a plate and cook the remaining
pancakes in the same way.Preheat
the oven to 180 degrees.
10. Mix the cheeses together in a bowl, to make
a spreadable paste.
11. To assemble the dish, place a pancake on
the bottom of an ovenproof dish, spread with
one-seventh of the cheese mixture, top with
another pancake and continue assembling like
this
12. Finish with a pancake on the very top. Pour
the tomato sauce over the top, sprinkle with the
remaining 25g (1oz) grated Parmesan and place
in the preheated oven (though it can also be
stored in the fridge overnight or frozen
at this stage), bake for 30 - 40 minutes until the
sauce is bubbling around the edges and the
centre feels hot when a skewer is inserted.
13. Take out of the oven, cut into wedges and
serve with a lovely green salad.

INFO & TIPS

http://www.thehomechannel.co.za/italian-baked -
pancakes-with-cheese-and-tomato/

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