Features

The Fraze - sometimes Freeze or Froize - is an old English dish, apparently. It's a bit like a pancake, but probably more like an omelette.

The Suffolk Fraze starts to take shape

Ingredients

25g plain flour
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 medium Lion Quality eggs
150ml single cream
15g butter
1 bunch spring onions, chopped
100g Suffolk ham, chopped
100g asparagus spears, blanched and chopped
Little oil for frying

For it to be a truly Suffolk dish - using Suffolk ingredients - you can't actually make it for Shrove Tuesday, as the asparagus won't be in season.

Put the flour, salt and pepper in a bowl. The method I followed said make a well in the middle - but there didn't seem enough for that really. Add the eggs, and whisk. Mine was a bit lumpy - but it came good in the end. I was worried there wasn't enough flour, but it actually came together nicely. Then add the cream.

Melt the butter in a frying pan and add the spring onions, ham and asparagus until they've got a bit of colour. Then add to the batter. Don't worry about adding the hot veg and ham to the mix - it didn't cause any problems for me.

Cooked to perfection, the Suffolk Fraze!

Heat a drop of oil in the frying pan and spoon in a dollop of the mixture in. Actually, it's a bit thin for a dollop, but the recipe I had suggested using about a quarter of the mix. Don't have the heat up too high, or it won't cook in the middle. Cook until it's brown, then turn over. I was too scared to attempt flipping like a pancake. Cook until brown again.

I think it's nice with a drop of tomato ketchup - but others preferred it plain. Serve warm.

The breakfast team get stuck in

After having a go at making it, the general consensus among those who had a taste was not only that it was rather yummy, but could also be adapted to use different ingredients - one person even suggested moving away from the Suffolk theme and turning it oriental!

Panda's Pancakes

The Suffolk Fraze makes a nice alternative, but BBC Radio Suffolk presenter Nick Pandolfi says you can't go wrong by sticking with his twist on the traditional favourite:

Pair of lemons - Dr Philippa and Nick

Ingredients

For the pancake mixture:

110g/4oz plain flour, sifted
pinch of salt
2 eggs
200ml/7fl oz milk mixed with 75ml/3fl oz water
50g/2oz butter

To serve:

caster sugar
lemon juice
lemon wedges

Method

Sift the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl with a sieve held high above the bowl so the flour gets an airing. Now make a well in the centre of the flour and break the eggs into it. Then begin whisking the eggs - any sort of whisk or even a fork will do - incorporating any bits of flour from around the edge of the bowl as you do so.

The Pandolfi family recipe is poured into the pan

Next gradually add small quantities of the milk and water mixture, still whisking (don't worry about any lumps as they will eventually disappear as you whisk). When all the liquid has been added, use a rubber spatula to scrape any elusive bits of flour from around the edge into the centre, then whisk once more until the batter is smooth, with the consistency of thin cream.

Now melt the 50g/2oz of butter in a pan. Spoon 2 tbsp of it into the batter and whisk it in, then pour the rest into a bowl and use it to lubricate the pan, using a wodge of kitchen paper to smear it round before you make each pancake.

Now get the pan really hot, then turn the heat down to medium and, to start with, do a test pancake to see if you're using the correct amount of batter. I find 2 tbsp is about right for an 18cm/7in pan. It's also helpful if you spoon the batter into a ladle so it can be poured into the hot pan in one go.

Nick juggles broadcasting with pancake tossing

As soon as the batter hits the hot pan, tip it around from side to side to get the base evenly coated with batter. It should take only half a minute or so to cook; you can lift the edge with a palette knife to see if it's tinged gold as it should be. Flip the pancake over with a pan slice or palette knife - the other side will need a few seconds only - then simply slide it out of the pan onto a plate.

Stack the pancakes as you make them between sheets of greaseproof paper on a plate fitted over simmering water, to keep them warm while you make the rest.

To serve, spinkle each pancake with freshly squeezed lemon juice and caster sugar, fold in half, then in half again to form triangles, or else simply roll them up. Serve sprinkled with a little more sugar and lemon juice and extra sections of lemon.

Enjoy…..Nicholas Pandolfi.