Buttermilk corn pancakes with bacon & maple syrup

The use of buttermilk and corn in this recipe is inspired by the flavours of the American Deep South. But if you can’t get hold of buttermilk, you can also use 2 tbsp Greek yogurt mixed with 75ml milk as a substitute.

SERVES 4 PREP 10 mins COOK 30 mins EASY

75g fine cornmeal or polenta 125g plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

4 large eggs, beaten

110ml buttermilk

60g butter, melted and cooled 300g sweetcorn, frozen or canned 4 spring onions, chopped, plus extra

to serve groundnut or sunflower oil,

for frying

8-12 back bacon rashers, smoked

or unsmoked maple syrup, to serve

1 Heat the oven to 150C/130C fan/ gas 2 – you’ll need the oven to keep the pancakes warm later on. Put the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, eggs, buttermilk, melted butter and half the sweetcorn into a food processor and pulse to combine (you want the corn to be chopped, not puréed). Stir in the spring onions and remaining corn.

2 Heat about 1 tbsp oil into a frying pan set over medium heat. Ladle in two lots of pancake batter, about 10-12cm in diameter. Cook for 3-4 mins until set and small bubbles form on top. Use a palette knife to flip the pancakes over and cook on the other side for 2-3 mins more. Transfer the cooked pancakes to a roasting tin or baking sheet lined with a double layer of baking parchment, then put in the oven to keep them warm while you repeat the process for the next two pancakes. You should have enough batter to make eight in total.

3 When all the pancakes are cooked, add a little more oil to the pans, then cook the bacon until golden on both sides. Serve 2-3 rashers over two pancakes per person, with the maple syrup drizzled over and extra spring onions sprinkled on top.

GOOD TO KNOW folate • 1 of 5-a-day PER SERVING 792 kcals • fat 48g • saturates 19g • carbs 52g • sugars 5g • fibre 4g • protein 35g • salt 4.3g