Goat Cheese and Red Capsicum Pancakes

It's been a little while since I last took part in a Weekend Cookbook Challenge but when I saw Sara had chosen the theme of TV Cooks I knew I could find something interesting lurking on my shelves.

Now there certainly was a large selection to choose from, Jamie, Nigella, Ramsay and his adversary Marco, Locatelli, Two Fat Ladies, Delia, the ever smiling Bill Granger even Keith Floyd and the Galloping Gourmet but eventually settled on English chef, Gary Rhodes.

The recipe I'm making comes from his book, At the Table and it proved to be a perfect companion to my Parsley Root Soup. These Goat cheese and Red Capsicum Pancakes are simple to make but utterly more-ish.

Goat Cheese and Red Capsicum Pancakes

[Makes about 12]

1 egg
150mls milk
125 grams self-raising flour
1 tablespoon mashed potato (I used mashed parsley root)
1 small red capsicum (bell pepper), very finely diced
1 tablespoon spring onion, very finely sliced
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan
75 grams Goat Cheese, broken into small pieces (I used Meredith Dairy Goat Cheese)
salt and freshly ground white pepper

Whisk the egg lightly with the milk and then add the mashed potato, red capsicum and spring onion - whisk briefly to incorporate. Season with a little white pepper and salt.

Sift the flour and add it to the egg mixture along with the grated Parmesan. Stir until the flour and cheese have been absorbed and then gently fold in the goat cheese.

The final mixture is thick but spreadable and I found using about a quarter cup of mixture produced a pikelet sized pancake.

Use a heavy-based non-stick or cast iron pan to cook the pancakes - I have a small cast iron skillet that I make all my pancakes and pikelets in as I find it transfers the heat evenly and enables the pancakes to cook beautifully. If you like to form really round pancakes, use a well greased egg ring to help form the shape.