These flavour-packed pikelets are a sure fire winner; they are soft, fluffy and reheat very well. Just serve with a simple leaf salad for a perfect spring dinner.
170g self raising flour
1 tsp lemon zest, finely grated
1/3 tsp salt
1 egg yolk
150ml Lewis Road Creamery full fat milk
50g kale, thinly sliced, blanched for a minute, drained and squeezed dry
80g Butter, melted
150g cottage cheese
50g english blue stilton cheese, broken into 1 cm chunks
15 grams fresh dill, roughly chopped
2 egg whites, whipped to soft peaks
For the sauce:
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp dried chilli flakes
100g Sour Cream
Preheat the oven to 180C
To make the sauce, put the oil in a small saucepan with the chilli and warm through on a medium heat for 2 minutes then set aside to cool
Pour the oil mix into a small bowl and stir in the sour cream and season to taste then place to one side
To make the batter, put the flour and lemon zest in a large mixing bowl with a third of a teaspoon of salt. Make a well in the centre and add the egg yolk and milk
Combine the mixture with a wooden spoon, starting from the centre and working your way out towards the edge, until you have a thick batter
Add the kale, half the butter, cottage cheese, Stilton and dill. Mix again and gently fold in the egg whites
Heat 20 grams of butter in a large non-stick frying pan on medium heat. When it starts to foam, spoon in four large rounds of batter mix, each about 9 centimetres in diameter and 1.5 centimetres thick
Fry for five minutes on low heat, turning once until golden brown. Transfer to a large baking tray and repeat with the remaining butter and batter mix
Bake in a preheated oven for 15 minutes until cooked through
Put two pikelets on each plate and serve warm, with a generous spoonful of the sauce