Chicken and asparagus pancakes

Method

Make the filling first. Melt half the butter in a heavy saucepan and fry the mushrooms gently till they yield up their water and gild a little (don't let them brown). Remove and reserve. Add the rest of the butter to the pan, reheat till it oils, sprinkle in the flour and fry gently for a minute or two till it looks sandy. Add the hot chicken broth and bubble up, whisking till smooth. Turn down the heat and simmer gently until the sauce no longer tastes of raw flour - allow 10 minutes - stirring to prevent sticking. Stir in the cream, bubble up, taste and season with nutmeg, salt and pepper. Remove half the sauce and reserve. Stir the reserved mushrooms and diced chicken into the sauce in the pan, bubble up again to blend, remove from the heat and leave to cool.

To make the pancakes, whisk the flour, egg, milk and salt together till smooth. Heat a small frying pan and rub with a scrap of butter held in a cloth. Pour in enough of the pancake mix to coat the surface. Wait till the top looks dry and the underside browns - 2-3 minutes - flip it over and cook the other side. Transfer to a cloth, folding over to keep the pancakes soft. Continue until all the mixture is used up - you should have about a dozen pancakes.

Heat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan oven) gas mark 6.

Trim the asparagus, drop it into boiling water and drain immediately. Spread a tablespoon of the filling down the middle of each pancake, tuck in an asparagus spear and roll it up like a little carpet. Set the rolls one against the other in a gratin dish into which they just fit in a double row.

Top with the reserved sauce, dot with a little more butter and a generous handful of grated cheese. Bake for 15-20 minutes, till the top is brown and bubbling - you might need to finish it under the grill.