Quick Vs Long Lockdown Recipes: American Style Pancakes Vs Seafood Paella

Restrictions are slowly easing, and with the weather currently set to scorcher, try something different on the BBQ this week with seafood paella. Or, try these super quick pancakes for a tasty breakfast or lunch!

Blueberry pancakes (makes a stack of 4 for 1 person)

Combine in a bowl self-raising flour 100g, white sugar 1 tbsp and baking powder 1 tsp. Add melted butter 25g, milk 100ml and 1 egg. Whisk everything together to make a thick batter. Stir in a handful of blueberries coated in flour to your pancake mix (or skip this step if you want plain pancakes).

Melt some butter in a hot frying pan, ladle in a quarter of the mixture to make a circular shape, then leave to cook for a couple of minutes. When you see the pancake start to form bubbles which pop, turn the pancake over using a spatula. Cook for a further few minutes until golden brown.

I normally cook two pancakes at a time in the pan, then turn the pan down to medium heat and add some more butter for the next two pancakes. This helps prevent burning and sticking.

Serve in a stack with whatever toppings you wish; I love mixed berries, jam, yoghurt and dessicated coconut.

This recipe was adapted from instagram account somewhereinabook.

Seafood paella (serves 8)

Heat a large BBQ-suitable pan with a couple tbsp of oil, or on your stove if cooking inside. Add 2 large chopped white onions and cook for 5-8 minutes until softened, stirring to prevent catching. Next add 4 small cupfuls of paella rice and 1-2 small glasses of white wine. Leave for a couple of minutes, stiring once or twice.

Add a 1/4 teaspoon of saffron strands to a couple of tbsp of stock in a seperate small bowl and leave for a couple of minutes. In the meantime, add 2 finely chopped garlic cloves to your paella and cook for a minute to release the flavour. Then add your saffron mix and stir to combine. Add a generous handful or two of chopped fresh parsley and a large handful of chopped fresh tomatoes.

Now to slowly cook the rice. Put on some nice music or prop up a book beside you, so you can remain by the BBQ or stove without it feeling like a chore. Ladle in a couple of large spoonfuls of vegetable stock each time, stir to combine, then leave until almost fully absorbed before adding more stock. Some recipes say never to stir paella - I don't know "the rules" but I prefer to stir a little every time I add new stock. Continue the process until the rice is almost fully cooked (depending on how al-dente you like it and the heat of your appliance this can take anything from 20-40 minutes, take a look at your packet instructions for a rough guide).

10 minutes before the end of cooking time, add in your seafood of choice; I like using squid cut into rings, king prawns, and mussels in the shell. Check seafood is cooked through, piping hot and all shells have opened before serving. Discard any shells that have not opened. If you feel less confident cooking seafood, a clever cooking hack is to buy a packet of pre-prepared seafood mix from the fresh or frozen isle of the supermarket - just follow the packet instructions for cooking times.

Stir in two handfuls of frozen peas a couple of minutes before serving.

Enjoy this weeks sunny weather x