Recipe: Bacon and Sage Froise by James Rayner

BACON & SAGE FROISE

Words and photography James Rayner

The History

Hundreds of years ago, Brits up and down the country were cooking a distinctive type of thick pancake known as a froise, fraise or froyse, the name – according to dictionary writer Samuel Johnson – stemming from the French verb froisser (meaning ‘to crease’ or ‘crumple’). The most common version was the bacon froise. This was made by frying small pieces of streaky bacon in a pan and, just a minute or two before they’re ready, pouring a thick pancake batter over the top. Another version, mentioned in a recipe book of 1739, is the clary froise which had finely chopped clary leaves in the batter (a herb from the sage family) and was served with slices of lemon.

Here, we combine the two to make a bacon and sage variety, enlivened with a citrus zing and made to fill the full size of the frying pan (as was the custom in Essex up until the 19th century).

Ingredients

225g self-raising flour, sifted 250ml whole milk 40g butter, melted 1 medium egg Vegetable oil for frying Streaky bacon Clary or sage leaves, finely chopped Lemon wedges, to serve

Method

Make a well in the middle of the sifted flour and add the melted butter, whisked egg and half the milk. Mix together, slowly adding more milk and the finely chopped sage leaves, to create a smooth, thick batter. Lightly oil a frying pan and cook small pieces of streaky bacon. Roughly one to two minutes before you think the bacon will be ready, pour enough of the pancake mixture over the top to cover the pan. Shake the pan occasionally to stop the froise from sticking. Once the underside is ready, carefully turn the pancake over (ensuring it doesn’t crack or bend) to fry the other side.

Garnish with more sage leaves and a squeeze of lemon to serve.