Goats Cheese baked with hazelnuts and maple syrup on a savoury pancake

Cheese with something fruity is a marriage made in heaven.  Chutney, relish or just some redcurrant jelly is what I would normally have with goats cheese, however, this experiment started when I ran out of walnuts to bake with the cheese, I toasted hazelnuts then decided to try a drizzle of warm maple syrup and that is what gave me the idea for savoury pancakes.  The result was delicious.


For the pancakes
Serves 4 people for a starter or
2 for lunch

3 oz SR flour

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1 tbsp chopped chives

1 large egg

milk to mix to a thick batter
A little oil
Mix all the ingredients together to a thick batter.  Heat the oil in a heavy based frying pan and spoon in the mixture 1 tbsp for each pancake, cook for 1 minute each side until golden brown, keep them warm.

Cut 4 thick slices from a goats cheese log.  Toast the hazelnuts in a dry pan over a medium heat for 3-4 minutes, place the in a towel and rub to remove the skin.  Roughly chop the hazelnuts and place some on top of the slices of cheese, (save some to sprinkle over).   Lightly press them down until they stick.  Bake in a pre-heated oven at 170C for 10 minutes.

Warm the maple syrup gently over a low heat.

Place slices of goats cheese on the pancakes, drizzle with warm syrup and sprinkle with chopped hazelnuts.

Serve warm.