Pannenkoeken

In a letter addressed to his priest, the wealthy shopkeeper Alidanus Breuwer from Utrecht, who was passing through Rome in 1522 and invited by the Pope to lunch, mentions that Jan van Scorel was also a guest and that they ate pannenkoeken with sausage and cheese, which “made him feel at home”.
Pannenkoeken is a dish that is eaten almost everywhere in the Netherlands, a happy cross between crepes and pancakes, with the characteristic that the 'filling' (the stuffing) is not added at the end of cooking but during it.

It is usually a savoury dish, but can also be eaten sweet, using pieces of chocolate, apples or any other fruit as a filling. If you choose this variant, add one or two tablespoons of sugar and your favourite flavourings: cinnamon, vanilla, rum, etc. to the mixture.

Ingredients for 6 savoury pannenkoeken:

125g flour
250ml milk
2 eggs
A pinch of salt
Butter for frying
Ingredients to taste: raw or cooked ham, bacon, mushrooms, cheese, sausage, bacon, etc.

Preparation

Beat the eggs in a bowl, add the milk and then slowly add the flour until the mixture is smooth. Once the mixture is ready, heat a non-stick frying pan, melt some butter and pour in a ladle of the mixture and the chosen ingredients.

Cook for a few minutes, pour over two more ladles of the mixture, turn the pannenkoeken and cook for another three or four minutes until the surface is golden brown. Serve immediately.

Note: use salt sparingly, as the filling ingredients are already salted.

(Liana Marabini)