Landrace Bakery

White Sourdough
Landrace Bakery, Bath

It's hard to believe that less than 10 years ago it was difficult to buy a good loaf of bread in much of the UK.  We all know why.  The Chorleywood Process has a lot to answer for.  Not just for propagating bad 'bread' but for turning it into such a cheap commodity that small independent bakeries couldn't compete with the fast, mechanised production process it introduced.  Bakeries disappeared from the high street.  It's been a long haul but now most towns boast a decent baker using traditional leaven methods of baking, though they'll most likely be found well away from the High Street.  Many of us even make our own bread from time to time in homes where pots of sourdough starter rise and fall on many a kitchen work surface.  But it's a time-consuming activity, and it's the time - the thing those Chorleywood scientists were so focussed on reducing - that really matters.  Stripped of the hydrogenated fats, the flour treatment agent, the bleach, the emulsifiers and preservatives we are left with flour, water, salt, which requires an injection of time.  With the return to basics, some bakers are now turning their attention to the quality of the ingredients, which means the grains - the growing, the milling and the using.  And it's this, along with producing excellent bakes that is the focus of attention at Landrace Bakery which opened last week in Bath.

Producing naturally leavened sourdough from organic British-grown stone-milled flours they are already producing outstanding loaves with a moist crumb and really satisfying depth of flavour.  It would be hard to think of a more intimate bakery.  The baking is within easy ogling distance of the counter which is stacked with dough and pastry bakes.  So if you're looking for lunch and can't choose between pumpkin and ricotta pastries or a Westcombe cheese toastie, you can keep an eye on the progress of the sausage rolls puffing up beautifully in the oven.  There's a light-filled cafe area with a window which opens onto the street in summer.

Pastry
at Landrace Bakery, Bath

Sourcing is clearly very important to Landrace Bakery.  Ricotta and cheddar from Somerset's Westcombe Dairy, eggs from Cacklebean Farm in Gloucestershire, butter from Fen Farm Dairy, flours from Gilchesters Organics, chocolate from Pump Street, coffee from Workshop Coffee and fabulously fresh salad leaves from Bath grower Undercliff Urban Farm.  It's an impressive ingredients list which Landrace Bakery are certainly doing justice to.  For the moment they have a small milling machine to experiment with whole grains, and interesting plans for a "flour club" for customers.

You'll find Landrace Bakery close enough to the city centre but off the tourist drag, on Walcott Street.  A few doors down from the Fine Cheese Company, Landrace fits perfectly into what's known as the 'Artisan Quarter' of Bath.  On my visit locals were pitching up to try out the newcomer to the neighbourhood, and they seemed as taken with their new bakery as I was.

So why the name Landrace Bakery?  Broadly speaking,  'Landrace' translates as a 'domesticated animal or cultivated plant which has, over a long period of time, adapted to the local natural environment in which it lives'.  The name, I believe, tells you a lot about the intentions of Landrace Bakery.  This place is only going to get better with time.

Landrace Bakery
61 Walcot Street
Bath BA1 5BN

Coleman Coffee Roasters

Coleman Coffee Roasters

You've probably noticed I have very few recommendations for coffee on my blog.  There are, of course, any number of places in London where you can drink a decent coffee, and plenty of guides pointing the way.  There are a few I'll happily call in at but then there are the independents whose focus is on their own roasting.  If they'll brew me a cup and sell me the beans directly, that's perfect. So here's one for you.

Jack Coleman grew up in a flat above the original Monmouth Coffee in Covent Garden with the aroma of coffee permeating every corner of his home.  With that introduction it could have gone either way - coffee hater or coffee lover.  Fortunately for us it was the latter.  Fascinated by coffee, he was working in the Monmouth shop as a barista from his early to late teens before helping set up the original Fernandez & Wells.  Then an Otto SwadloV3 roaster was going begging and the idea of bringing it back to life was irresistible.  The machine was in pieces but with a bit of TLC and a lot of application, Summer 2008 saw Jack Coleman roast his first batch of raw coffee on the 58 year old Viennese beauty.  With modifications for ducting, insulation, pressure gauges, fans and thermometers, it's now producing some of the best coffee roasts in London.

From his small south-east London roastery Jack Coleman specialises in Arabica coffees, buying his raw beans based on quality and traceability.  Roasting is in small batches of around 3.5kg, which is as much as the Otto Swadlo V3 can cope with.  On Saturdays he crosses the few metres from his base, brings the Marzocco up to temperature and serves shots of excellent expresso.  You can also pick up a bag of his freshly roasted beans.  The fact he shares this retailing space with The Little Bread Pedlar bakery who make, for my money, the best croissants in London, makes this the perfect place for a Saturday breakfast.  Handily, there's a fantastic choice of independent food traders clustered around the Spa Terminus location.

If you can't get to Spa on Saturdays, you can get a taste of Coleman Coffee in London at some of the best places like Leila's Shop, Italo Deli and Brunswick House.

Piccolo from Coleman Coffee

Coleman Coffee Roasters

Ricotta Pancakes for Breakfast, Lunch, Tea

Ricotta Pancakes
with banana and maple syrup

It's almost Shrove Tuesday.  I know because I'm getting the usual hints and reminders that pancake making needs to be factored-in to the food plans soon. With its approach comes the usual thoughts of what kind of pancakes to make?

Buttermilk Pancakes with their tangy, ripe fermented flavour and open texture that sucks up syrup like a sponge. Their satisfaction quotient belies the fact that buttermilk has only a 2% fat content, being the liquid leftover from the butter-making process.  If you can get true buttermilk, rather than the supermarket 'cultured' variety, your pancakes will taste so much better.  However, my favourite pancake for this day of the year, and probably yours too, is the one who's mixing I don't even have to think about; the one I've made 'forever'.  My Shrove Tuesday Pancakes, I've learned, fall somewhere between Jane Grigson's "Pancakes for the Poor" and "Pancakes for the Rich".  This is almost certainly the one I will make on 17 February.  There will be sugar and fresh lemons on the table, and Lyle's Golden Syrup for some (me).

Folding in the egg whites

But I've already offered you recipes for both of these pancake mixes.  So here's a Ricotta version.
Ricotta is a soft Italian cheese made from milk whey left over from cheesemaking.  The resultant pancakes are richer than the buttermilk version, having a higher fat content, and producing a similarly fluffy-texture.  For me, the taste is not as good as a buttermilk pancake, but that could be down to the fact I can get good quality buttermilk, at an affordable price, more easily than an equivalent ricotta I'm prepared to treat this way.

This is my go-to recipe for Ricotta Pancakes.  It's adapted from the one in Breakfast, Lunch, Tea by Rose Carrarini of Rose Bakery in Paris and includes the reminder: 'when adding "wet to dry" never knock the air out of the mixture by over-mixing the batter.  In fact at this point you should "turn the batter over with a large spoon no more than eight times!'

Ricotta Pancakes
(Serves 4 - makes around 8 pancakes)

100g(4oz) ricotta cheese
100ml (3½ fl oz) milk
2 medium eggs, separated
75g (2¾ oz) plain four
½ teaspoon baking powder
A pinch of salt
A little unsalted butter for cooking

Beat the ricotta with the milk and egg yolks until smooth.
In a separate large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.
Add the wet mixture to the flour and stir very lightly.
Beat the egg whites until stiff then fold them into the batter.
Melt just a little butter in a small frying pan and add 3-4 tablespoons of batter.  Tilt the pan to get an even thickness of batter.  
Cook on a low to medium heat until the pancake is lightly golden on the bottom.  Turn and cook for another minute or so until cooked through.  
Cook the rest of the pancakes in the same way, adding a little extra butter to the pan for each.
Serve hot with your choice of fruit or sauce.

Autumn in Berlin

Brandenburg Gate, Berlin

Can four years really have passed since I was in Berlin?  Four years since that visit during the spargel  (asparagus) season when there was no time to take a train to Dessau to see the Bauhaus Foundation.  Ah, well next time.  So, let's try again.  A visit to the icon of modernism had to be top of the list.  But first it was time to get our bearings and renew acquaintances.  You'll notice there are very few photos of food in this piece.  It just doesn't feel right in Berlin to be photographing your food, so let's eat. Maybe it'll start a trend!

Kreuzberg, Berlin

We left our bags at the hotel and headed south into Kreuzberg where the Turkish influence is strongest.  There are many things to like about Turkish culture but, for me, Turkish Coffee is not one of them so we held out until we found the 'Coffee Roastery and Cake Shop' Five Elephant on Reichenbergerstr.  A couple of cortados each and a slice of walnut and honey pie were life savers, but, but ...  there was such a difference in the delivery of the the two coffee orders that I'd be remiss if I didn't mention a lack of consistency - perhaps just down to different baristas.  The pie had a good filling but was spoilt by too much pastry.  I'd say it's worth a try if you're in the area but I'd probably head for Companion Coffee 5 minutes away on nearby Oranienstr.  OK, they don't roast their own coffee but they do brew up some fine guest ones including one of my favourites, a roast from Denmark's Coffee Collective.  Sometimes it's Square Mile or Workshop from London.  The Belleville (Paris) espresso, on when we visited, isn't one I'd seek out but there's no doubting the care and attention Companion Coffee pay to what they do.  They also serve up a delicious banana cake and the set up, in Voo clothing shop in a quite yard off the main street, is a bit of a haven.

The Barn, Berlin

I've saved the best for last.  The Barn roast their own coffee and it's the place in Berlin that reminds me most of my favourite London roastery, Monmouth Coffee.  I don't know The Barn well enough, yet, to be sure but there's a similar sense of sincerity that translates from what they say about themselves to how they deliver - keep close to the farmer and focus on quality and service. The Barn describes their roast style as "rather light" but it has never been too light-roast for me and I have an aversion to the new light roasts favoured by some roasteries.  The Barn, we soon learned, was the only place to go when breakfast called - a cortado goes rather well with a pot of Bircher müsli.  Sandwiches and cakes here are very good too.  Expect consistent standards.  It's tiny, so also expect to spill out onto the stools outside.  

A Mitte roofline, Berlin

There are a couple of useful places in Mitte district worth knowing about, particularly if you're looking for German/Austrian cuisine with its emphasis on meat.  Aigner close to Gendarmenmarkt serves up very good Beef Consommé, Wiener Schnitzel and various game dishes with, maybe, plum dumplings to finish.  The Kupferkessel (copper kettle) way with beef is particularly good.  Everything is done very properly but without fuss.  Rotisserie Weingrün is Aigner's sister restaurant where the, mostly meat, menu's success is down to careful sourcing and the flame grill.  Both restaurants stock good wines, some from their own 'Horcher' vineyard.  

Restaurant Pauly Saal, again in Mitte, had been recommended to us more than once.  Housed in a former Jewish girls' school, just down the road from The Barn, it's an easy place to miss.  An understated frontage conceals a courtyard dining area, a gentleman's club like bar and murano chandelier bedecked dining room.  No reservation and a pretty off-hand delivered "two hour wait" meant we went down the road to Cordobar instead.  This German/Austrian collaboration proved much more welcoming, despite the place being rammed with locals and no tables available.  OK, it's a bar but with really good wines, some natural and biodynamic served without making a big thing of it.  As partner Willi said to us, what's most important to them is that they "serve good wines".  We really enjoyed the natural wines we tried, all from Austria, all delicious, and none we had tried before. The fine glassware helped the flavours develop nicely.

A regular changing menu of small sharing plates is titled "Cold Bites, 'Warm Bites' and 'Sweets'.  I am, seriously, recommending you order the Bread & Butter - the best rye bread I've tasted comes with a bowl of whipped butter and it's a heavenly combination.  A Fritz Blomeyer cheese plate  was an eye-opener as to how good German cheeses can be (regrettably, I don't think these find their way beyond their homeland).  I would have liked a little more generosity for 15 Euros but every portion was perfect and the fig chutney was beautifully spiced.  You might find Oysters with almond emulsion & dill flower or Ribs with Jerusalem artichoke chips & a smoked vanilla dip on the menu, and maybe a chocolate cake with passionfruit cream.  If we'd had a table instead of standing at the bar we'd certainly have ordered more food.

Autumn in Tiergarten, Berlin

Despite several visits to Berlin we'd never managed to penetrate Charlottenburg in Berlin's far West.  So we walked along Unter den Linden, passed through the Brandenberg Gate and ambled through Berlin's green lung, the Tiergarten.  My expectation of a more conspicuously wealthy Western Berlin was turned on its head.  The former West looks much like the former East to my eye, the architecture being quite functional and there is generally a lack of conspicuous wealth.

Smoked Sardines at Rogacki, Berlin

Rogacki deli has been around since 1928 and here on Charlottenburg's Wilmersdorfer Str. since 1932.  It's very green - in colour rather than in credentials - and I have to agree with Foodie in Berlin that if it was in London it would have had "half a dozen facelifts" by now and probably be the worse for it.  Needless to say it's a German institution.  Although I'd give some of the food counters a miss - bakery and cheese are particularly underwhelming - the meat, poultry, game and fish sections are musts.  In their raw state they're impressive enough but the variety of smoked fish in particular is outstanding.  We paused for lunch at one of the standing bars where I confidently decided 'Krabbentoast' had to be Crab on Toast - it turned out to be prawn salad!.  Fortunately the staff are hugely tolerant of non-German speakers and, with the help of local diners, we were offered either North Sea (peeled prawns) or German Sea (brown shrimp) . The firm favourite that day was clearly the Fish Soup so that's what I had.  A huge bowl of good mixed white fish in a clear broth topped with chopped dill, the brown shrimp salad, bread and two glasses of Reisling and the meagre bill was under 20 Euros.

Manufactum, Berlin

Charlottenburg is also home to a Manufactum store.  With two floors of traditionally made household and gardening products, food and clothing, its presence just off Ernst Reuter Platz was like a honeypot to a bee.  Expect to see everything from a boot scraper to a dinner gong.  All is top quality and not necessarily German.  The prices reflect the quality, but it makes compelling browsing.  There's also a good-looking bakery/cafe next door called Brod & Butter which I wish we'd had chance to try.

Bauhaus Dessau 1

Bauhaus Dessau was calling and this time I would make it.  The train from Hauptbahnhof in Mitte takes less than 2hrs.  Once clear of Charlottenburg and Wilmersdorf it cuts through the 827km Naturpark Hoher Fläming so the ride is far from tedious.  I'd waited so long to see the Bauhaus building and suddenly, 5 minutes after stepping off the train, it was right in front of me.

Bauhaus Dessau 2

A collective that lasted only 14 years, 7 of the most productive in Dessau between 1925-1932, the Bauhaus movement continues to influence art, architecture and design.  Recently restored, the building is once again brought to life with students attending classes in the Bauhaus Lab, College, Summer Schools and Workshops.  It's also now occupied by the Bauhaus Dessau Foundation.

Bauhaus Dessau Masters' Houses

The Bauhaus building and the nearby Masters' Houses, designed, furnished and worked in by their occupants - including Walter Gropius, Laszlo Moholgy Nagy, Lyonel Feininger, Oskar Schlemmer, Paul Klee, Wassily Kandinsky and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe - are open to the public every day. You can even eat in the newly re-opened Bauhaus Canteen (though I have to say there is still room for improvement on the food front), and stay overnight in the Studio Building.  Well worth a 2-hour journey.  I made it!

Back in Berlin, Museum Island will keep you occupied for days.  A central area of the City where the greatest of Berlin's treasures are gathered - the architecture is a big draw in its own right.  My pick would be the Neues Museum, recently restored by the British architect David Chipperfield, where the surviving war damaged parts of the building have been beautifully integrated into the new.  Amongst its great works is the famous, and stunningly beautiful, bust of Egyptian Queen Nefertiti presiding over a room of her own.  Frustratingly, although we joined the queue for the Pergammonmuseum, we simply ran out of time to visit so this is top of my list for next time.  The closed-in architecture of the Jewish Museum Berlin adds to the experience making this the most affecting museum I've ever visited.  If you can't catch the train to Dessau, you can get a Bauhaus fix at the Bauhaus Archive right in the centre of Berlin.

Bristol fashion

Ox cheek ragu with ricotta & sorrel dumplings
at Bell's Diner, Bristol

It had been a while, but the first Bristol Food Connections 11-day festival this month was the perfect excuse to pay another visit.  The format appealed because it necessitated visiting different areas of the city instead of the usual crowded events around the quayside.  It was a day-trip which meant we couldn't stay for any of the organised evening events; not even a tempting Cheese School event at Hart's Bakery.  With names like Joe Schneider of Stichelton Dairy; Tom Calver of Westcombe Dairy; Charlie Westhead of Neal's Yard Creamery; and Todd Trethowan of Trethowan's Dairy plus The Wild Beer Company and Raef Hodgson of 40 Maltby Street/Gergovie Wines, it was not an easy prospect to pass up.  But let's start where we did, with breakfast at Hart's Bakery.

Hart's Bakery, Bristol

Tucked under the arches of the approach to Temple Meads railway station, its location couldn't be handier for a train traveller.  Two minutes off the London to Bristol service we were nursing cortados made with locally roasted Extract Coffee and tucking into toasted spiced, fruity, Festival Loaf with muscovado butter; light, moist, lemon cake and apple crumble slice.  With the bakery occupying the far end of the arch space, there's the irresistible aroma of baking breads and croissants, cakes and tarts, pasties and sausage rolls to lure the hungry traveller.  The front space is taken up by a shop counter and cafe.  The feel is more like being invited into someone's kitchen than a commercial space and it's all the better for it.  Good coffee, great food, lovely service, a welcoming atmosphere and you get to take home a damn fine loaf of bread.  I know for sure that next time I visit Bristol, not breakfasting at Laura Hart's Bakery is unthinkable.  

Bristol is a city made for walking.  Gorgeous Georgian architecture, green squares, candy-coloured terraced house overlooking a revitalised harbour side, and thankfully there are plenty of good independent coffee shops and restaurants in between.  I was never going to stick to my usual 2 cups of coffee  a day in this city so we stopped off at Full Court Press (FCP), supplied, amongst others, by Clifton Coffee Roasters (already familiar thanks to its recent weekend guest appearance at Kaffeine).  The skilled and knowledgeable barista was happy to share local knowledge as well as good coffee.  We found FCP was just around the corner from Small Street Espresso which was also on our hit list so, sadly, had to give that a miss - next time for sure as this is the place that kick-started speciality coffee in Bristol.  Later we made it to Didn't You Do Well on Park Row which hadn't been on our list but came up in conversation on the day.  It proved to be a good recommendation - HasBean coffee, shots pulled on a Slayer Seattle-made machine in a beautiful, calm, pared-back room.

Didn't You Do Well
Bristol

So where to lunch?  There were lots of recommendations so the final choice was made on proximity to where we found ourselves at the right time.  Bell's Diner, in the Montpelier district, won out. We checked with locals several times en-route to make sure we were going in the right direction and every single person said "Oh, Bell's Diner, it's great", and it was.  At lunch it's that, lately much-derided, 'small dishes' kind of place and it's a formula I like.  A dish of fresh peas in their pods came with slices of Manchego; Imam Bayildi was tender, smokey and silky; succulent, sweet scallops on cauliflower puree were topped with earthy morels and brown butter; and ox-cheek ragu was suitably melting beneath a trio of featherlight ricotta and sorrel dumplings.  I can't comment on the puddings as we didn't get that far but Prosecco was on tap and a house Molino red was an easy-drinking bargain.

Scallops with morels & cauliflower puree
Bell's Diner, Bristol

There were so many more places on our list.  Apart from Small Street Espresso there's The Lido; Flinty Red; Wallfish Bistro; The Rummer; Edna's Kitchen.  I'm also very keen to get back to Bristol soon to eat at newly-opened BIRCH in Southville for simple, locally sourced and home-grown food. OK, I admit I know owners Sam and Beccy, but believe me you too need to go.

My go-to person for Bristol food recommendations is local food blogger Food With Mustard. She's a mine of information and all round good egg.

Now, if only Hart's Bakery was open beyond 3pm (to fuel the journey home)  Bristol would be getting dangerously near to perfect.

Hofmann Pastelería, Barcelona

Kouign Amann at Hofmann Pastelería   
C/ Flassaders 44, 08003 Barcelona

I'm not the biggest fan of creamy cakes but, had I stayed any longer in Barcelona, I would certainly have been unable to resist the lure of those on offer in Hofmann Pastelería.  If cream cakes are your thing then I'm sure this is the place for you.  Buttery pastries, however, are another thing altogether. Here they caught my attention in a big way.  They were so good I made no fewer than 3 visits on a short trip - I know, I know!  The classic Kouign Amann (above) was soft and flaky inside and caramel-crunchy outside in the way you hope for, but so often don't get.  Croissants were filled with the finest quality almond paste.  I thought the glaze of icing sugar was surely an unnecessary extra - but what do I know?  It was perfect.  You'll also find exquisite looking loaf and special occasion cakes, tarts, biscuits, chocolates, jams and ice creams.

Hofmann is no secret in Barcelona.  Although the Pastelería is only 5 years old, the Hofmann restaurant and cookery school are both nearby,  These are where they first made their name.

Cakes at Hofmann Pastelería
C/ Flassaders 44, 08003 Barcelona

If you want to eat your purchases a la fresca, head for the Park  Ciutadella just a 5 minute walk away.  It's a lovely place to sit - as long as you don't mind the squawking parrots.

Hofmann Pastelería
C/ Flassaders 44
08003 Barcelona
C/ Flassaders is easy to miss.  This narrow street runs between Calle Princesa and Paseo de Born.

Buttermilk Pancakes

Buttermilk pancakes

Some things are too good to eat just once a year and pancakes are one of them.  Shrove Tuesday this year falls on 4 March.  It's the one day of the year when I'm definitely not allowed to forget pancakes have to be on the menu.  Shrove Tuesday was the day when the faithful were "shriven" - granted absolution after confession and penance.  It's was also the last day on which foods proscribed by the Church, such as butter and eggs, could be consumed before the annual Lenten fast began. Perhaps it was the thought of the righteously austere 40 days to come that made the day a celebratory one.  Whether you observe Lent or not, you'll probably be mixing up a pancake batter this week.

I've already posted the basic unleavened recipe I normally use on 'Pancake Day'.  To be honest, it's the one I'm most likely to use on Tuesday.  It's the least rich of any pancake recipe I know and also the one my family insist on, maybe more for nostalgic reasons than anything else.  You may prefer this leavened version which I make at other times of the year.  It produces a light but more spongy textured pancake.  This is the result of bicarbonate of soda reacting with the acidity of buttermilk to produce carbon dioxide.

First, a word about buttermilk.  It is not always what it seems.  Buttermilk is a by-product of butter-making.  It is the low-fat, white, milky liquid which separates off during the process.  Traditionally this is allowed to ripen, thickening and developing in flavour over a day or two.  What you'll find on most supermarket shelves is "cultured buttermilk" which is made by adding lactic bacterial cultures to milk.  This unfermented version has none of the 'ripe" flavours that are present in 'true buttermilk' which produces lactic acid naturally.  It's possible to make your own version of buttermilk, though, as I've not yet tried any of the methods I've read about, I'm not going to be the one to tell you how.

So, where does the buttermilk leftover from butter-making go?  Mostly into butter substitute "spreads", although buttermilk is a small proportion of their content along with a lot of other, for me, less desirable ingredients.  I count myself lucky that I can buy delicious Ivy House Farm real buttermilk from Neal's Yard Dairy (see the Ivy House Farm website for other stockists).

This recipe works whether you use true buttermilk or cultured buttermilk.  If you use true buttermilk you'll get a better colour and flavour but a looser batter and therefore the pancakes will spread more.  It's adapted from 'Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes' in  Chez Panisse Fruit by Alice Waters which I wrote about in Favourite Books.  I don't add fruit to the batter as I find the pancakes cook better without.  I prefer to let people help themselves to fruit and maple syrup .  As you can probably tell from the photograph, these pancakes soak up syrup like a sponge so you could use something less pricey than maple syrup.  I prefer to follow Alice Waters' advice and pour a little melted butter over the pancakes before adding the syrup.  This stops the pancakes sucking up quite so much of the syrup - you may or may not think that's a good thing.  At this time of year I serve bananas. In summer I'll briefly warm some blueberries or blackberries with a pinch of sugar to serve with the pancakes.

Buttermilk Pancakes
(Serves 4-6)

500ml (18 fl oz) buttermilk
2 medium eggs
80g (3oz) unsalted butter, melted
200g (7oz) all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon caster sugar
2 teaspoons Bicarbonate of Soda
Good pinch of salt

Mix together the buttermilk and the eggs with a fork.
Stir in the melted butter.
Sift together the flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt.
Add to the liquid mixture, together with the sugar, mixing gently until just  combined (the batter still a little lumpy).
Heat a pancake pan or griddle to medium-hot.  Grease the pan lightly with sunflower oil or butter.
To make each pancake, add 3 tablespoons of batter to the pan and cook until bubbles burst all over the surface and the underside is golden brown.  Turn and cook until the other side is golden brown. 
Keep warm in a low oven if necessary.

Serve with sliced bananas (or warmed seasonal berries), melted butter and maple syrup.

Breakfast Fruit and Oats

Breakfast Fruit and Oats
with blueberries and raspberries

Leaving home to go market shopping this morning the first thing I saw was a guy in a top coat, hat, gloves and scarf.  It's the end of May, what's going on.  Ten minutes later I passed a plucky London girl in shorts.  That's more like it, the summer wardrobe is out and it's staying out.  I don't know about you but, chill or no chill, I've had enough of steaming hot porridge breakfasts for a while.  Yet oats are so good for you.  

From its humble origins as a cheap stomach-filler, its status has risen to 'superfood' level with reports that oats are good for everything from lowering blood pressure and cholesterol to increasing brainpower and libido.  So, rather than abandon it entirely in the "heat" of summer, why not tweak it with the seasons.  Used as a base for seasonal fruits and nuts you can vary it throughout the year and make the most of our outstanding home-grown fruits.

Breakfast Fruit and Oats
with cherries

The original "Bircher" Muesli, on which this dish is based, was introduced by the Swiss Dr Bircher-Benner as a nutritious dish for his patients.  The recipe contains oats soaked in water, grated apple, lemon juice, a little cream and a few hazelnuts or almonds.  I've been served this for breakfast in Berlin and it's very nice if a little worthy, and, like porridge, I can see it could become a bit boring.  To ring the changes, I soak the oats (rolled oats are best and the mix can be kept in the fridge for up to 3 days) in apple juice or milk instead of water, use yoghurt instead of cream, and add seasonal fruits as well as nuts.

Breakfast Fruit and Oats
with blueberries

Fruits can be changed to reflect seasonality from spring to late autumn - raspberries, blueberries and blackberries work best but strawberries, rhubarb compote or sliced apricots ring the changes.  In the winter months, raisins or sultanas are good soaked for a few hours in apple juice. As for the nuts, for me hazelnuts are the best choice but in summer their sweet, milky cousin Kent Cobnuts are delicious, or try almonds.  I also add a little honey to counteract any acidity in the fruit, the amount will vary depending on which fruit you choose.  Here is my basic recipe.  It's not only good for you but moreish rather than worthy.

Breakfast Fruit and Oats
(Serves 4)

5 tablespoons Rolled Oats
100ml milk or apple juice
150g plain yogurt
2 apples, cored (but not peeled) and grated
1-2 tablespoons lemon juice
Honey to taste
A handful of nuts, halved (toast them briefly in a frying pan if you have time)
300g of fruit (see above)

Soak the oats with the milk or juice overnight or for at least 2 hours.  To your soaked oats, add yoghurt, grated apple, lemon juice, honey and nuts and stir to combine.  Fold in the fruit and serve.