Potato And Leek Pancakes

Total Time: 50 mins Preparation Time: 25 mins Cook Time: 25 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 4
• 550 g floury potatoes, such as russett, peeled and cut into chunks
• 100 g leeks, cut into 5mm dice
• 280 g self-raising flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 280 ml buttermilk
• 30 g unsalted butter, for frying
• 2 teaspoons oil
• 4 slices streaky bacon, rashers each rasher cut into 4
• 3 fresh sage leaves, coarsely shredded
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 25 g unsalted butter

Recipe

• 1 for the pancakes: put the potatoes in a pan and cover with cold water. add a pinch of salt, cover and bring to the boil. cook for 15-20 minutes until cooked.
• 2 drain the potatoes well. mash half of them and coarsely grate the remainder.
• 3 put the leeks in a pan and cover with plenty of lightly salted water. cover and cook for 3-5 minutes until tender. drain well then press with kitchen paper to extract as much moisture as possible.
• 4 sift the dry ingredients into a bowl, and mix in the mashed and grated potatoes and the leeks.
• 5 stir in enough buttermilk to make a thick batter.
• 6 heat the butter in a non-stick frying pan. spoon in some of the batter and cook for about 2 minutes or until the top of the pancake is silky and bubbly. turn over and cook for a few more minutes until golden and puffy. repeat with the remaining batter. keep the pancakes warm.
• 7 for the topping: heat the oil in a separate pan and cook the bacon until golden and crisp. add the butter, sage and lemon juice.
• 8 to serve: put the pancakes on serving plates and spoon the bacon mixture over the top.