SHROVE TUESDAY PANCAKE DAY

Shrovetide
The last three days before the beginning of Lent is known as Shrovetide The old names for these days were:
1 Quinquagesima Sunday - Shrove Sunday
The fiftieth day before Easter.
2 Collop Monday - Shrove Monday
Named after the traditional dish of the day: collops of bacon served with eggs.
In addition to providing little meat, the collops were also the source of the fat for the following day's pancakes.
3 Pancake Day - Shrove Tuesday.
The day on which all fats and cream had to be used up.

Shrovetide was celebrated with games, sports, dancing and other revelries. There were feasts to use up the food that could not be eaten during the Lenten fast. Football was played in the streets and Nickanan Night (as Shrove Monday evening was called in Cornwall) was a time for boys to run riot in the villages: hiding gates, taking off door knockers, and making off with anything that householders had forgotten to lock away.

Shrove Tuesday (Pancake Day)
Shrove Tuesday is the last day before the period which Christians call Lent. This day is one of the moveable feasts in the church calendar and is directly related to the date on which Easter falls.
Shrove Tuesday always falls 47 days before to Easter Sunday, so the date varies from year to year and falls between February 3 and March 9.
In 2007 Pancake Day will be on 20 February and in 2008 it will be on 5 February.

Where does the word Shrove come from?
The name Shrove comes from the old word "shrive" which means to confess. On Shrove Tuesday, in the Middle Ages, people used to confess their sins so that they were forgiven before the season of Lent began.

Shrove Tuesday a time for celebrations
Shrove Tuesday is a day of celebration as well as penitence, because it's the last day before Lent.
Lent is a time of abstinence, of giving things up. So Shrove Tuesday is the last chance to indulge yourself, and to use up the foods that aren't allowed in Lent. Pancakes are eaten on this day because they contain fat, butter and eggs which were forbidden during Lent.

What is a pancake?
A pancake is a thin, flat cake, made of batter and fried in a pan.
The picture shows the pancakes cooked using the recipe below
Other names for Shrove Tuesday
In England we call Shrove Tuesday, Pancake Day
In France they call it Mardi Gras, which means Grease or Fat Tuesday
In Iceland the day is known as "Sprengidagur" (Bursting day)

PANCAKES WITH HOT PASSION FRUIT SAUCE

serves 4
50g / 2oz plain flour
1 egg
150ml / 1/4 pint semi-skimmed milk
grated rind of 1 orange
2 tsp groundnut oil for frying
300ml / 1/2 pint good quality orange juice
1 tbsp muscovado sugar
4 passion fruit, halved with the pulp scooped out
100g / 4oz fresh raspberries

1) Tip the flour into a large bowl. Make a well in the centre and crack in the egg.
Gradually whisk in the milk to form a smooth batter, then stir in the orange rind.

2) Heat a small non-stick frying pan. Add a little oil, then wipe out the pan with kitchen paper.
Pour enough batter into the pan to just coat the base, then cook for about 1 minute
Loosen the edges with a spatula, then turn (or toss) the pancake and cook the other side.
Continue until you have eight thin pancakes; set aside.

3) Pour the orange juice and sugar into the pan.
Bring to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes until slightly reduced. Stir in the passion fruit pulp.
Gently fold each pancake in half then half again to make triangles;
slide into the hot orange and passion fruit sauce to warm through.
Serve at once with the fresh raspberries.