Happy Oatcake Day

Today, the 8th day of the 8th month, is Oatcake Day.  Above is a serving suggestion.  For people celebrating the Olympics I suppose you could serve the Oatlympic Rings with GOLDen syrup, but I'm a tradtionalist (read on for my serving suggestions).

No, we’re not talking about those dry oaty biscuits from Scotland, but Staffordshire Oatcakes.  Although I think we might permit their close cousins on their mother’s side – Derbyshire Oatcakes, to join in the festivities.

There’s 40 shops, all in and around Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire plus a couple in Cheshire that make and sell this wonderful food.  Regular readers of this blog will know that I've visited them all (see here for a map).  Sadly (due to lack of sponsorship) I've not yet got to the Staffordshire Oatcake shop in New Zealand.

If you’ve never had a Staffordshire oatcake, you’ve missed a treat.
They’re best eaten hot from a proper oatcake shop.  However if you're cooking them at home, here are my rules.

Get a decent oatcake.  Every shop has its own recipe, so you may have to try a few to decide what you like best.  Oatcakes made with a machine (like Poveys, Foley, and High Lane) tend to be thinner - which some prefer,  whereas ones poured out of a jug tend to have a bit more texture.  Today I'm using Oatisan oatcakes, a good and relatively new producer from Tunstall:

Don't put your oatcakes in the microwave!  Some shops do this, especially if you arrive late in the day (that's lunchtime in the oatcake world where many shops are open at 5:00am), but I like a bit of crispiness on my oatcakes.

Put one in a hot frying pan (if you're using a non-stick one you don't need any fat) and cook for a few minutes:

If you've got a griddle (Aldi recently had some) then that's even more like a proper baxton which the oatcake shops use.  You'll also need some grated cheese (some say Cheddar, others say Cheshire):

We could waste a lot of time debating the other ingredients, but I'd go for some good bacon:

others will include beans/black pudding/egg/mushrooms/sarcasm/sausage and we could also spend a lot of time debating whether it should be brown/no/tomato sauce.  If you're vegetarian cooking a few chopped onions in the pan first to go with the cheese is also good.

Having flipped the oatcake, added the cheese, and other ingredients and turn the heat down:

and watch the cheese melt.  A handy chef's tip is not to stand over the pan - as drooling on it at this point could make your oatcake soggy. If you want you can add another heated oatcake on top, that's known as a double in the shops.

 Web: www.oatcakeday.com