Experimenting in the kitchen I came up with the Portobello Pancake. Reading up about batter, pancakes go back the furthest in time when it comes to our use of flour, so you can be sure this has been done before. Maybe I have just changed the name then?
Mixing
It´s a thick batter from flour and water and salt. This is going to make 2 pancakes, so there is about 100g of good flour. Add salt to taste, but not table salt with drying agents. Everything has to be of good quality. I use rock salt; there’s enough time for it to dissolve completely. Then crack in two good eggs. It´s quite a thick batter compared to my normal pancakes, which produce bubbles when you pour the mixture back into the bowl. I´ve not tried it, but I´m pretty sure this Portobello mixture doesn’t do that! It´s not very runny, and when you pour it, it doesn’t run but rather walks slowly as it takes to the shape of the frying pan.
Cooking
Ok, so you´ve got your batter all made up as per above video. Leaving it to rest a while for 30 mins or in the fridge if over night, will help the flour get even more soaked in the water.
Heat a pan with a knob of butter to full heat. Wait until butter browns and then wait some more until smoke just starts to rise. Then you’re ready to pour in your mixture.
Place lid on frying pan. These things need your undivided attention, so you can’t walk away and do something else at this point. After just a minute or two, check for brownness on underside. When happy, flip it. Reduce heat to around quarter. This varies depending on your cooker. With some cookers/ pans you can actually turn off the ring after flipping it, and it cooks right through still. I like to find methods to ensure cooking the flour properly and also to keep in the moisture.
With normal pancakes, I soak a piece of untreated (stay away from anything anti-bacterial) kitchen roll in butter and apply a light coating to the pan. This way, a small amount of butter goes a long way. You can easy grease a pan for 4 pancakes. Butter seems to provide some kind of non-stick capability over olive oil, which can make the pancake stick to a non non-stick pan.