making Boursin black pepper hotcakes

My use of black pepper is usually confined to making what G calls my ‘witches brew’ when I have a cold (a generous twist of it in a ginger, lemon and honey toddy). Boursin’s new black pepper cheese square portions seemed like a safe way to try out being more adventurous with black pepper in my cooking and in the event I didn’t even have to come up with a recipe of my own.  Lisa Faulkner’s developed some tasty recipes for Boursin’s new range and while E napped I made her black pepper hotcakes – he might enjoy sucking on a peppery square neat but I needed more of an enticement.

I used a box of black pepper cheese portions rather than a whole round as per the recipe.  I wondered if the batter was a bit thick but once the pancakes start to cook they hold their shape and I was able to cook 4 at a time in a medium size frying pan. I switched to using coconut oil instead of butter for frying half way through after setting off the smoke alarm (amazingly E slept through it!). 
As it happened the pepper was just what I needed for my sore throat and a more palatable way of getting some fiery healing than adding it to a drink.  I’ve never made mini pancakes before and they were so easy I doubt I’ll ever return to my high failure rate flipping of large pancakes again. I imagine they’d freeze well but to be honest they’re no effort to make so I’m not sure it’s worth the hassle of remembering to take them out the freezer to defrost.
We also had some garlic and herb portions which added a hint of creaminess and flavour to dishes like this tuna and pea pasta, bombay potato and melted into soup.

Disclosure: I was sent the cheeses by Boursin to review. I was not required to write a positive review and any opinions expressed are my own.
© Boursin recipes for the first image in this post