Shrove Tuesday, Pancake Day, Mardi Gras!

I totally forgot to post about Shrove Tuesday, which is today, February 16th. It's because of all the excitement from Valentines day (thank you to my fabulous husband for my amazing gifts!).

All Catholic and some Protestant countries traditionally call Shrove Tuesday (the day before Ash Wednesday) Fat Tuesday (or Mardi Gras in French). The name predated the Reformation and referred to the common Christian tradition of eating special rich foods before the fasting season of Lent.

Among Anglicans, Catholics, Lutherans and some protestant denominations, including ethnic British communities in Canada, this day is also known as "Pancake Tuesday", as it is customary to eat pancakes. In Australia today is referred to as Pancake Day and I remember eating pancakes at school on this day :)

Why pancakes? Well, pancakes and doughnuts are associated with the day preceding Lent because they were a way to use up rich foodstuffs such as eggs, milk, and sugar, before the fasting season of the 40 days of Lent. The liturgical fasting emphasized eating plainer food and refraining from food that would give pleasure: In many cultures, this means no meat, dairy, or eggs.

Thought I'd share with you my suggestion for a variation on the plain pancake tradition, one of my favourite dishes:

Ricotta Hotcakes with Honeycomb butter

INGREDIENTS

1 1/3 cups ricotta cheese

3/4 cup milk
4 eggs, separated
1 cup plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
50g butter

To serve
Banana
honeycomb butter, sliced (below)
icing sugar for dusting

Honeycomb Butter
250g unsalted butter, softened
100g sugar honeycomb, crushed with a rolling pin
2 Tbs honey

METHOD

Place ricotta, milk and egg yolks in a mixing bowl and mix to combine. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Add to the ricotta mixture and mix until just combined.
Place egg whites in a clean dry bowl and beat until stiff peaks form. Fold egg whites through batter in two batches, with a large metal spoon.
Lightly grease a large non-stick frying pan with a small portion of butter and drop 2 tablespoons of batter per hotcake into the pan (don't cook more than 3 per batch). Cook over a low to medium heat for 2 minutes, or until hotcakes have golden undersides. Turn hotcakes and cook on the other side until golden and cooked through. Transfer to a plate and quickly assemble the other ingredients.
Slice one banana lengthways onto a plate, stack three hotcakes on top with a slice of honeycomb butter. Dust with icing sugar.

Place all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth. Shape into a log on plastic wrap, roll, seal and chill in a refrigerator for 2 hours.
Store any leftover honeycomb butter in the freezer

Enjoy!