Pancakes, pancetta and maple syrup

• By Nick Camilleri Preziosi and Alex Mattei

For 4 people, you will need:

Two eggs, 220ml of milk, five tablespoonfuls of unsalted butter (melted), 190g of plain flour, half a teaspoonful of salt, one tablespoonful of caster sugar, four teaspoonfuls of baking powder, pancetta and maple syrup to serve.

In a bowl, beat the eggs with the milk and melted butter. Put this aside. In another bowl, sift together the flour with the salt, sugar and baking powder. Pour the egg mixture into the flour and stir it very lightly until the wet and dry ingredients are just combined. Rub the inside of a small frying-pan with a little butter. Heat this until it is quite hot, and pour in three or four tablespoonfuls of batter. Tilt the pan so that the batter spreads and covers the base evenly. Turn the heat down to medium. Cook until a few bubbles come to the surface of the pancake, and then flip it. If you find this difficult, use a metal spatula to quickly turn it over. Cook for a further minute. Continue making pancakes like this until all the batter is used up, adding more butter to the pan as necessary. Pancakes are best when eaten fresh from the pan, so serve them immediately, with crispy pancetta and maple syrup drizzled on top. Cook the pancetta – or bacon – on a griddle-pan or under the grill while the pancakes are cooking.