Olive oil & rosemary pancakes with rhubarb & orange

Breakfast, dessert or a decadent tea-time treat—pancakes are not just for Shrove Tuesday. We’ve gone American style with these stacked fluffy ones but we’re bringing a taste of the Mediterranean with seasonal blood oranges and, of course, a healthy dose of extra virgin olive oil.

Plus, we couldn’t miss out on the season for English forced rhubarb whose savoury flavour marries perfectly with rosemary for a dish that isn’t overly sweet.

Use this month’s Club oil from Marije in northern Portugal. With its almond, apple flower and banana notes, it’s a perfect match for this fruity combo. Or, pair it with our Greek oil: delicate, herby and a total winner combined with crème fraîche. New season EVOOs like these are super vibrant right now and ideal for a flavour packed finishing drizzle.

Here's the method:

Serves 3-4

• Combine everything from plain flour down to the zest of 2 blood oranges in a large bowl and whisk to a smooth, droppable consistency.
• Peel and segment 2 of the blood oranges and set them aside. Juice the remaining two oranges into a pan with 2 tbsp sugar (or less if you don’t have a sweet tooth). Put it on the hob to reduce to a syrup. 
• While the syrup is reducing, slice the rhubarb into pieces a little thicker than a pound coin. Add them to the reducing syrup (before it has become too thick!), allow them to poach for 1 minute, then remove them with a slotted spoon. Allow the syrup to continue reducing until it reaches your desired consistency.
• Take your pancake batter out of the fridge, heat a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat and season with EVOO (instead of butter). If you have an older EVOO, this is a good place to use it—save the new season for the drizzle! Pour drops of your batter into the pan and flip so that each side browns up nicely.
• To serve, stack the pancakes on a plate, top with a few spoons of creme fraiche, segmented orange and poached rhubarb. Finally, pour over the orange syrup and finish with a generous drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.