These pretty green hotcakes are light and fluffy – and they only take a few minutes to make from start to finish.

You could also serve them as an hors d’oeurve; just divide the batter into 12 little pancakes. Here, it’s divided into 4 to make a light appetizer or brunch dish.

Instead of smoked salmon, try adding chopped cilantro (coriander leaf), a pinch of ground cumin and/or cayenne to the batter and offer some  Indian yogurt, mint, ginger, chili & cilantro relish on the side.

The variations are endless; sour cream and caviar would also be good on a tiny pancake.

For some reason, *self-raising flour is hard to come by in the US so I create my own as follows:

• 1 cup (240ml measure) of plain/all-purpose flour (you don’t want to pack it down, so spoon the flour into the cup measure then level the top off with the blade of a knife)
• 1.5 level tablespoons of baking powder (a tablespoon is a 15ml measure)
• a pinch of salt

Whisk everything together and store just as you would regular flour.

Minted Green Pea Hotcakes with Smoked Salmon

MINTED GREEN PEA HOTCAKES WITH SMOKED SALMON

(Served 4 as an appetizer)

Ingredients:

4 oz (115g) of tiny frozen peas, defrosted and drained

2 scallions/spring onions, trimmed and finely sliced

6 sprigs of mint – stalks discarded, the leaves chopped

2.5 oz (70g) of *self-raising flour

1/4 teaspoon (1ml measure) of baking powder

1 large egg

4 tablespoons of buttermilk, whole milk or thin cream

1 tablespoon of high-temp oil for frying (avocado or grape-seed oils are perfect for this)

Sea salt, freshly ground black pepper

To serve:

6 oz (170g) of smoked salmon, divided

4 heaped tablespoons of sour cream

Action:

Lightly whisk the buttermilk and egg together and set aside.  In a separate bowl, mash the peas with a spud-masher; add the chopped onion and mint; season with sea salt and black pepper and stir to mix.

Add the flour and baking powder, followed by the egg-buttermilk mixture and fold everything together until you have a thick, sticky batter.

In a wide non-stick skillet or saute pan, heat the oil over a high heat. Divide the batter into 4 even-sized pancakes and cook them over a fairly high heat until golden – approx 2 minutes each side.

Transfer the hotcakes to warmed plates; top each with a dollop of sour cream and some smoked salmon. Eat right away.