An Italian lady showed me a brilliant trick for frying pancakes: cut a small potato in half and spear the rounded side with a fork. Dip the flat side into oil in a small bowl and use it to wipe a thin layer of oil around the frying pan – it doesn’t absorb the oil like a piece of paper towel. You can use a tin of Italian plum tomatoes as the passata – just purée them with a stick blender or in a food processor. The pancakes can be made with any flour, but do adjust the milk quantity accordingly to reach the same consistency. The batter is easier to work with if it is made at least 30 minutes in advance. It can be made a day in advance and kept in the fridge covered in cling film (plastic wrap). Traditionally, fine white ‘00’ flour is used for the pancakes but we like to use nuttyflavoured buckwheat, which, despite its name, has no connection to wheat. It is related to the rhubarb family, is very nutritious and contains no gluten. This recipe makes slightly more pancakes than you need, to allow for a few mishaps!