Pancakes with Onion and Camembert Filling

Who can resist the wonderful, smooth and creamy flavour of Camembert? Not me, that's for sure. It is one of my favourite cheeses, which I'm always looking for new ways to use for a delicious supper.

My curiosity for where foods originate unearthed a charming story to this delicious cheese. 'Camembert de Normandie' is more than a simple cheese; it has a rich history and has become a symbol of French Gastronomy. It is what is called a 'surface-ripened' cheese, traditionally made from unpasteurised cow's milk, which originated in Camembert, Orne, the largest small village in Normandy, northern France. In 1791 a farmer, Marie Harel, learned from a priest from Brie how to make a soft cheese and Camembert cheese was born.

The cheese we know today is more likely to have it's beginnings in the industrialization of the cheese making process at the end of the 19th century. In the early years the maturation process of this cheese produced a rind of dubious colours developed by chance, but from the early 20th century, the colour become creamy white due to the use of an aqueous suspension of penicillium moulds sprayed on the outside of the cheese before being left to ripen.

Cheese and pancakes are such a quick and easy meat-free meal for during the week.

Ingredients:

For the Pancakes:

15ml olive oil

half a red onion, sliced

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

150g flour

a pinch of salt

2 large eggs

100ml milk

25g butter

85g Camembert, sliced

paprika to sprinkle

For the Sauce:

150ml double cream

half a vegetable stock cube or 15ml liquid vegetable stock concentrate

15ml chopped fresh parsley

a pinch of paprika

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180C.

For the pancakes, mix the flour, salt and eggs and half of the milk in a bowl, adding more milk as necessary, until the batter has the consistency of double cream. Heat the butter in an ovenproof frying pan over a high heat until it is foaming. add the batter mixture with a ladle, swirling the pan to spread the mixture evenly over the bottom of the pan. Fry the pancake on both sides for 1-2 minutes until golden brown on both sides. Set aside while you finish making the pancakes. The mixture should make 4 pancakes.

When finished making the pancakes, heat the oil in another frying pan over a medium heat and fry the onion and garlic for 3-4 minutes until softened.

To assemble the pancakes, put the onions and cheese onto one half of each pancake and sprinkle over a little paprika to taste. Fold the other half of the pancake over the filling and transfer to the pan in which the pancakes were made. Warm 2 pancakes at a time in the oven for 3-4 minutes, or until the cheese has melted.

For the sauce, pour the cream into a pan and crumble the half stock cube into it - or add the liquid stock if using. simmer over a medium heat for 5-6 minutes, until the liquid has reduced slightly, then stir in the parsley and a pinch of paprika.

To serve, put the filled pancakes onto a warmed serving plate, pour over the sauce. Serve with a salad of green leaves and baby tomatoes.