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Olive oil & rosemary pancakes with rhubarb & orange

Olive oil & rosemary pancakes with rhubarb & orange

Ingredients

175g plain flour
25g sugar
1 ½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 egg
250g buttermilk
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh rosemary
The zest of 2 blood oranges
3 sticks of forced rhubarb
4 blood oranges
2 tbsp sugar (optional)
200g creme fraiche

Breakfast, dessert or a decadent tea-time treat—pancakes are not just for Shrove Tuesday. We’ve gone American style with these stacked fluffy ones but we’re bringing a taste of the Mediterranean with seasonal blood oranges and, of course, a healthy dose of extra virgin olive oil.

Plus, we couldn’t miss out on the season for English forced rhubarb whose savoury flavour marries perfectly with rosemary for a dish that isn’t overly sweet.

Use this month’s Club oil from Marije in northern Portugal. With its almond, apple flower and banana notes, it’s a perfect match for this fruity combo. Or, pair it with our Greek oil: delicate, herby and a total winner combined with crème fraîche. New season EVOOs like these are super vibrant right now and ideal for a flavour packed finishing drizzle.

Here's the method:

Serves 3-4

Combine everything from plain flour down to the zest of 2 blood oranges in a large bowl and whisk to a smooth, droppable consistency.
Peel and segment 2 of the blood oranges and set them aside. Juice the remaining two oranges into a pan with 2 tbsp sugar (or less if you don’t have a sweet tooth). Put it on the hob to reduce to a syrup.
While the syrup is reducing, slice the rhubarb into pieces a little thicker than a pound coin. Add them to the reducing syrup (before it has become too thick!), allow them to poach for 1 minute, then remove them with a slotted spoon. Allow the syrup to continue reducing until it reaches your desired consistency.
Take your pancake batter out of the fridge, heat a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat and season with EVOO (instead of butter). If you have an older EVOO, this is a good place to use it—save the new season for the drizzle! Pour drops of your batter into the pan and flip so that each side browns up nicely.
To serve, stack the pancakes on a plate, top with a few spoons of creme fraiche, segmented orange and poached rhubarb. Finally, pour over the orange syrup and finish with a generous drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

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FAQs about olive oil brands and quality

They certainly can be! But it’s always important to consider why they’re expensive. If the higher price reflects early harvest olives, small-batch production, regenerative farming, and fair wages for farmers, then yes – you're likely getting a high-quality product that’s better for your health, the environment, and the industry. But sometimes, the price tag just reflects good branding and fancy packaging. Always look for real indicators of quality like harvest date, origin transparency, proper packaging, and clear production practices to know if it’s truly worth the splurge.
The best way to tell if you have a bottle of real extra virgin olive oil—and not just labeled that way—is to look for transparency and pay close attention to the details. Quality EVOO will list a harvest date (not just an expiration date), come in a dark glass or tin container, and specify the origin. Avoid vague blends and flashy marketing claims without substance. And most importantly, taste it: legitimate extra virgin olive oil should be fruity, bitter and peppery—not flat or greasy. Your palate is often the best judge
One of the biggest culprits is the term ‘first cold pressed’, which might sound impressive but doesn't define the modern extra virgin olive oil making process or the product's quality. Also look for the harvest date. If you only see an expiration or “best before”, it's more likely the olive oil quality isn't as good. Also pay attention to vague origins like ‘EU blend’. While this might sound romantic, it's a strong indicator that olive oil quality is not top notch. Long story short: true quality comes from transparency, not trendy marketing, so always look beyond branding.