Pancake Roulade

Makes 4 servings

These are the European pancakes known as crèpes, blinis, blintzes etc., which are extremely thin.  There is also an Italian pancake known as manicotti which is similar. They are not the same as the American fluffy pancakes.  Pancakes in England are traditionally made on Shrove Tuesday, (also known as Pancake Day), the day before Ash Wednesday in Lent to use up the dairy ingredients.  Children love them served with sugar and fresh lemon juice and poor Mother hates it, because she could spend hours making pancakes one at a time for the children who can’t get enough of them.  There are races shown on T.V. where people run a race carrying a pancake in its frying pan without dropping it and the best can throw the pancake in the air and catch it again on the frying pan.

Ingredients:

• 3 Tbsp. (45 ml) butter melted and cooled or olive oil
• 1/3 cup (2 oz.) rice flour, potato starch, tapioca starch blend (King Arthur Gluten-Free Flour, Annalise Roberts, Authentic Foods, etc.)
• 1/4 tsp. gluten-free baking powder
• Pinch of salt
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup (120 ml, 4 fl. oz.) milk

Lasagna Style Filling Ingredients:

• Just do the ricotta, cheese mixture that you would use for homemade lasagna. Homemade cashew nut ricotta tastes good as well.
• 1 lb. (500 g) ricotta (Recently, I have been buying Galbani whole milk ricotta that tastes really rich and creamy. Calories are 100 calories for 1/4 cup, which was the same as other whole milk ricotta in my grocery store.  Skimmed was 90 calories per 1/4 cup.)
• 1 cup (4 oz.) pizza cheese blend
• 1 egg
• Salt and pepper
• Chopped fresh basil, parsley, green of green onion, as much as you like or none
• Either add onion, 1 red bell pepper, 1 small zucchini or summer squash, few mushrooms, chopped and cooked together OR chop one cooked chicken breast halve and 1 roasted red pepper and add to ricotta  mix.

Directions:

1. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl, make a hole in the middle of the flour and break the eggs into it.
2. Add a Tbsp. of milk and slowly stir in the flour, while continuing to add the milk.
3. Add the cooled, melted butter or oil before you finish adding the milk.  Whisk until smooth and frothy. Or just use an electric mixer, immersion blender or food processor to blend everything together at once.
4. Preheat oven to 475 degrees.
5. Generously grease a 10 x 15 (25 cm x 38 cm) jelly roll pan. Do not use any pan that is not completely level as the batter will flow to one side.  A glass lasagna style pan is fine. Put the empty pan in the oven for 5 minutes to get hot. If your pan is not reliably non-stick, then line pan with foil, pressed into sides and corners.  Parchment paper tends to lift.
6. Stir batter than pour in the batter (batter will sizzle as it hits hot pan) and cook on the top shelf for 8-10 minutes until risen and golden. It will look uneven and lumpy but golden colored on risen pieces, pale on flat pancake.  Remove from oven and turn out onto a flat surface, chopping board etc.  Leave until cool enough to touch.
7. Fill under side of pancake with lasagna style filling above, or chicken in thick sauce, cooked mixed vegetables or a meat sauce and spread out evenly to cover pancake almost to the edge.
8. Roll up so it is short and fat and place pancake on original jelly roll pan.  Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and bake at 350 degrees F for 30-40 minutes until sizzling.  Serve with salad, marinara or other sauce, or gluten-free garlic bread. It cuts cleanly when cold and reheats well.

Alternative:

• Make a summer version with herb and cream cheese layer and sliced tomatoes, cucumber, avocado, roasted bell pepper etc., and serve cold.