Easter Sunday Brunch: Parmesan Pancakes with Smoked Salmon and Lemony Creme Fraiche

Ok, so I know I wished terrible weather on us all for Easter, for purely selfish reasons. But (perhaps, thankfully) that weather did not come through.

One of the Matts had a Swiss friend to stay, and so on Friday The Matts decided to show him what NZ was really about. They went for an hour long walk to a secret dive spot. Now, you would think that a Swiss man would be all over the idea of an hour long tramp along pristine NZ coastland, followed by a manly show of hunting and gathering. Unfortunately, this was not your ordinary Swiss man. Apparently he lagged behind on the walk (which was, to his dismay, over rocks, through rivers, and generally not an easy affair). When they got to the dive spot, he spent only a few minutes in the water before he scrambled out, short of breath. He later said that he felt unsafe because he couldn't see the rocks (on the calmest, clearest water day of the year). Albeit a lovely, friendly person, this Swiss man was not what you would expect.

But the Matts came back with a Good Friday fishy feast, of paua, crayfish (oh yes!), and freshly caught trevally.

The amazing weather has continued right through this Easter weekend, and this morning I whipped up this special Easter brunch, which screams of summer flavours. Smoked salmon and lemon are always a deliciously fresh combination. But pairing this with gently flavoured parmesan pancakes and fresh grassy mizuna made for an amazing brunch out on the deck on a windless Easter Sunday morning.

Tonight we are having a few friends around to feast (ironically) on Rabbit Ragu with Pappardelle. While many people were creaping out of bed at 5.30am to hide eggs from the Easter Bunny, I was putting together an Easter Bunny stew which will simmer very gently for 12 hours. It is already making the house smell amazing!

Happy Easter everybody!

Parmesan Pancakes with Smoked Salmon and Lemony Creme Fraiche (Makes 6 pancakes)

1c Self Raising Flour (which you can make by placing 1t baking powder into the bottom of a cup measure, and filling up with all-purpose flour)
1/2t salt
1c milk
1 egg
1/2c finely grated parmesan
Butter for frying
100g creme fraiche
Zest of 1 lemon
2t lemon juice
100g smoked salmon
A small bunch of mizuna (rocket or mesclun will do if you can't find mizuna)

Turn the oven or warmer on to 100 C.

Combine the flour and salt with half the milk, the egg, and the parmesan. Mix until you have a smoothish paste. Add the rest of the milk, and mix until incorporated.

Heat a pan over a medium heat. Drop a knob of butter into the pan and add a small ladle-full of the pancake mixture into the pan. Using the bottom of the ladle, spread the pancake out a little to form a nice circle. Fry until golden underneath, and bubbles start to appear in the top of the pancake. Carefully flip and fry until the underneath is cooked too.

When each pancake is done, pop them on a serving plate in the oven to keep warm. Continue until all the pancakes are done.

While the pancakes are cooking, mix the creme fraiche, lemon zest and lemon juice together. Taste, and adjust the lemon as necessary. Pop into a serving dish. Also plate the salmon and mizuna nicely, with a slight drizzle of oil over the top.

When the pancakes are done and everything is plated up, serve the pancakes, creme fraiche, salmon and mizuna on the table.

Enjoy!