Pancakes with Ham and Ricotta

Serves 4

425ml milk

125g plain flour

2 medium eggs

Salt and black pepper

A little sunflower oil, for frying

500g ricotta cheese

200g ham, chopped

2tbsp freshly chopped basil

Butter, for greasing

Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

For the sauce:

1 large onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 can chopped tomatoes

¼ tsp dried chilli flakes

2 tsp balsamic vinegar

2 tsp sugar

handful of basil leaves, torn

Salt and black pepper

First make the sauce. Heat some oil in a saucepan and gently cook the onion and garlic until softened. Stir in the tomatoes, chilli flakes, balsamic vinegar and sugar. Bring to a simmer and cook slowly for 1 hour. Stir in the basil and season with salt and pepper. Leave to cool (for a smooth sauce blend in a food processor).

Put the milk and flour in a bowl and whisk together. Whisk in the eggs and season. Set aside for 20 mins. Heat the oil in a medium frying pan and ladle in a spoonful of the batter. You need around 80ml batter per pancake, making a total of eight.

Swirl the batter around the pan to cover the base and cook over a medium heat for 2-3 mins until golden. Flip the pancake over and cook the other side. Slide on to a plate and transfer to a warm oven. Repeat until all the batter has been used.

Preheat the oven to 210C. Mix together the ricotta, ham and basil in a bowl, seasoning well. Divide equally among the pancakes and fold up. Place the pancakes side by side in a 1.2-litre ovenproof dish greased with butter.

Pour the tomato sauce into a bowl and spoon over the pancakes. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan and bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 mins.