Fat Tuesday deserves a better name. Splurge and Indulge Tuesday.  Live it up before Lent Tuesday.  Or even Breakfast for Dinner Tuesday.

Maybe the term Fat Tuesday is distasteful because we think of fat as something to fear and shun.  On the other hand, the indulgence is just so delicious.

So every Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, tradition calls for us to live it up with the good stuff before 40 days of austerity.  There’s never a better excuse to eat pancakes all day.

As a carrier for indulgence, I’m sharing a relatively light recipe for lemon yogurt pancakes.

And although maple syrup is lovely…

I like to have customized embellishments for my flapjacks, which brings me to compound butter.  Here I mix half and half butter and homemade damson plum jam.  I leave it a little chunky to preserve the rustic appearance, but if you want to get fancy, blend it thoroughly, scrape into a pretty ramekin and smooth the top.

The sauce, I’m afraid, was a total improv.  I pureed a cup of peach pickles, which I made in the summer and didn’t post, then simmered with 1/4 cup brown sugar and simmered until reduced by half.  For your own improv, in case you don’t have pickled peaches around, try splashing a little vinegar into a sweet sauce just to brighten it up a little.

Lemon yogurt pancakes

Makes 12 three-inch pancakes

1 cup plain yogurt

1 egg

4 tablespoons butter, melted and slightly cooled

3/4 cup all purpose flour

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon lemon zest, from about two lemons

oil for griddling

Stir together yogurt, egg and butter until smooth.  In another bowl, whisk together flour, sugar,  baking soda and salt.  Dump into yogurt mixture and stir just until combined.  Leave any lumps.  Stir in lemon zest.

Preheat a griddle or skillet over medium high heat.  Preheat the oven to 200 degrees and place a platter on the center rack.  When a flick of water dances on the griddle, brush with oil.  Pour a scant 1/4 cup batter onto the griddle, and smooth with the back of a spoon to flatten a little.  When the pancake is dry around the edges and bubbles in the center burst, flip and griddle for another minute.  Transfer to serving platter until all pancakes are griddled.  Serve with embellishments of your choice.

Pancake recipes from the archives

Silver dollar pancakes with maple walnut drizzle

Dulce de leche crepes

Cottage cheese and oatmeal pancakes with lemon curd

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Recipe and photos compliments of Janine MacLachlan, The Rustic Kitchen, www. RusticKitchen.com. All rights reserved.

Tags: pancakes FatTuesday

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