- POTATO PANCAKES WITHYOGHURT CHEESE

In these, instead of making a pancake and stuffing it, you grate the 'stuffing' and incorporate it into the batter. The chief point about the pancakes is that they should be fried really crisp, eaten very hot and accompanied by thick, creamy, chilled Yoghurt Cheese (see page 180).

As a smooth surface preventsthepancakes from sticking, use a non-stick frying-pan if possible; this will also mean that you need less oil. Leave the batter to stand for 30 minutes-I hour before cooking, as this will give the starch granules time to swell. Use floury potatoes, such as King Edward, Cara or Marfona.

In the interests of crispness, eat the pancakes at once, as soon as they are fried, even though this means that everyone cannot be served simultaneously. For 3-4.

Beetroot will make the pancakes a wonderful deep pink.

- INGREDIENTS-

I Ib/500 g ffoury potatoes

8 oz/250 g carrots, or raw beetroot

I largish onion

2 oz/50 g wholemeal ffour

4 eggs (size 2 or 3)

Salt

Pepper

3 tablespoons plus I teaspoon oil

Yoghurt Cheese made with I Ib/500 g yoghurt (see page 180)

Non-stick frying-pan

Fish-slice

- METHOD-

I Peel the potatoes, onions and carrots. If using beetroot, scrub it, cover with salted water and boil for 50 minutes-I hour or until tender; peel as soon as it is cool enough to handle. Coarsely grate all the vegetables and leave in a sieve to drain.

2 Put the flour into a bowl and make a well in the middle. Add and beat in the eggs one by one. Stir in 213 teaspoon salt, a generous grinding of pepper and I teaspoon oil. Leave to stand for 30 minutes-I hour.

3 Mix the grated vegetables with the batter. Warm I tablespoon oil over medium to lowish heat in the frying-pan and add I heaped tablespoon of the batter mixture. Flatten it so that the pancake will be thin (the thinner the pancake, the crisper it will be). If there is room in the pan, add another. Fry for 1-2 minutes or until the undersides are firm and brown (lift the comer with the fish-slice to check!. then tum and fry until the other sides are brown. Serve at once. Flick out or wipe off any browned remnants of batter or vegetables in the pan and repeat. If using a non-stick pan, you will need to replenish the oil only after every second set of pancakes. Continue until the batter is finished: there should be enough for 10 smallish pancakes. Serve with Yoghurt Cheese taken from the refrigerator just before serving.

-YOGHURT-

As bought yoghurt costs more than twice as much as milk and the ingredients are simply milk plus a small amountofyoghurt, the saving on making your own is over 100 per cent. Very little work is involved but, as with bread, you have toallow time fora living organism to reproduce -in this case 6--8 hours. Unlike bread, the home-made version, which depends chiefly on the yoghurt used as a starter for its quality, will not differ much from the yoghurt you buy: an enormous difference, however, can be made by adding your own flavourings.

The only equipment you need is a saucepan, spoon, pudding basin or other heat-proof bowl and (since, like yeast, the yoghurt bacteria need warmth) a larger bowl and a towel for insulation. As not only the yoghurt but also other bacteria flourish in warm milk, you should sterilise the equipment by rinsing in boiling water. If you use ordinary milk, this will also need steriliSing: it is therefore more practical to use UHT. (To sterilise ordinary milk, simmer for 10 minutes.)

WHEN YOU'RE REALLY BROKE

Any yoghurt can be used as a starter provided that it is unflavoured, fresh (that is, not near its sell-by date) and unpasteurised - which includes most of the brands on sale; pasteurised yoghurts can be distinguished by their relatively long sell-by dates. You do not need to buy yoghurt specifically labelled 'live' (which merely means unpasteurised). The flavour of the starter yoghurt, however, is important because yours will be similar: if you want mild yoghurt, choose a mild starter. It can be full- or low-fat, as you wish. The milk used can also be full- or low-fat according to the kind of yoghurt you want.

As well as adding flavourings of various kinds, you can use home-made (or, if it comes to that, commercial) yoghurt for making fruit ices and yoghurt cheese. Makes iust over I Ib/500 g (enough for 4).

- INGREDIENTS-

I tablespoon unpasteurised yoghurt

I pinU600 ml UHT milk

Pudding basin or similar heat-proof bowl

Large bowl

Towel

- METHOD-

To sterilise the equipment, fill a saucepan with water (there must be enough water to fill the pudding basin in tum). Put a tablespoon into the water, bring to the boil and boil forat least I minute. Pour quickly into the basin; also transfer the spoon (use a cloth as the handle may be hot). Letthe waterstand fora few minutes. Empty, leaving the spoon in the basin, and allow the basin to cool, preferably until it is lukewarm rather than cold.

2 Put the yoghurt into the basin and stir until smooth with the sterilised spoon. Pour the milk into the saucepan. Wash your hands (because of the need to test its temperature) and heat the milk until it feels positively warm to the touch but not hot. Ideally it should be I07"F/42°C: a little deviation on either side does notmatter, but if it is much hotterthe yoghurt may curdle, and if much cooler, little will happen and the yoghurt will remain unsatisfactorily thin. Mix I tablespoon of the milk with the yoghurt, then pour in the rest slowly, stirring continuously. Keep stirringfora minute ortwo. Coverwith a plate and setthe basin in the large bowl. Using a teapot, pour into the large bowl enough water of about the same temperature as the milk to come three-quarters of the way up the basin: take care not to add too much or it may overflow into the yoghurt. Wrap in a towel and leave in a warm place for 6-8 hours or until the yoghurt is set. Do not leave longer or the yoghurt may be very sharp, or even curdle. Ifthe basin is still warm, cool by standing in cold water. Keep covered and store in the refrigerator. The yoghurt will keep for up to 4 days and can be used as a starter for a new batch for the first 2 days. If it is older, contamination by other bacteria is more likely. It should be replaced as a starter by a commercial yoghurt after 3 batches.