Pancakes are not only for Shrove Tuesday. The second of February is a feast day in many calendars; Imbolc, St Brigid’s Day, the Feast of Purification and Candlemas.

It was the feast of Lupercal in Roman times, and is considered the harbinger of spring. In France, crêpes are served on February 2, which is also known as Chandeleur, instead of on Shrove Tuesday; the golden colour and round shape are said to represent the sun.

Remember next year that if you toss your pancakes at Candlemas, you should do so with a coin in your hand to ensure prosperity for the rest of the year.

With inexpensive ingredients, readily available, why not practise today, so that you can serve perfect pancakes on Shrove Tuesday next week?

Pancakes, and their Breton versions, crêpes and galettes, the first for sweet fillings, the second for savoury, are wonderfully versatile, and can be turned into desserts, main course or substantial first course.

Consider some of the following: thin galettes filled with smoked salmon and cream cheese, slices of smoked salmon, herbs and salmon roe; chocolate pancakes filled with chocolate cream; thick pancakes made with cider in the batter topped with caramelised apples and clotted cream; rum-scented pancakes filled with mango and lime compote and served with rum-flavoured custard; thick blueberry hotcakes for breakfast; pancakes flavoured with orange flower water, filled with pistachios and custard flavoured with orange zest and juice custard.

For teatime, small thick honey and lemon pancakes with lemon curd are perfect, or spread a Scottish drop scone, or Welsh griddle cake, with butter, roll, and eat while still warm.

Shrove Tuesday pancakes are best eaten as they come out of the pan, simply sprinkled with lemon juice and sugar and folded or rolled, the poor man’s version of crêpes Suzette perhaps, but to my taste, every bit as good.

For a main course, thin pancakes rolled around a meat or cheese filling, like Italian crespelle, packed into a shallow earthenware dish, covered with a cheese or tomato sauce, and baked in the oven are inexpensive and the perfect winter comfort food.

Or for an elegant dish when entertaining, stack thin pancakes one on top of the other, sandwiched with vegetable purée, such as leek, fennel or spinach, with a little crumbled cheese in each layer. Top with cheese sauce, grated cheese, and breadcrumbs, and brown in the top of the oven. Cut into wedges like a cake, and serve with salad or grilled vegetables.

Meat versions might use ragu or cooked and mashed chicken livers flavoured with gin and juniper. Pancakes filled with ham and blanched chicory or baby leeks, topped with a cheese sauce and then baked also make an excellent main course.

One of the more unusual fillings for galettes, which we were served in Belle Ile, Brittany, with a jug of cool cider served in bowls, was slices of andouille, tripe sausage; an indication of just how versatile the humble pancake can be.

Cook’s notes

• If it is more convenient to do so, you can let the batter stand for half an hour or so. With plain flour batter you can even keep it refrigerated for24 hours. It will thicken eventually and can be thinned down, if you wish, with a little water. Self-raising flour batter should be used soon after making, otherwise, the raising agents will ‘tire’ and the pancakes or hotcakes become stodgy.

• If I am making pancakes for a sweet filling, I will probably use milk, which can be skimmed, semi-skimmed, or whole milk. Water is what I usually use for savoury pancakes, occasionally with the addition of beer or cider. Batter for fritters is made in the same way, but you use exactly half the quantity of liquid as for pancake batter.

• With the basic pancake recipe, you can devise many variations, both in the flours and liquids used, any added flavourings, and, of course, the fillings.

• For thick pancakes, such as drop scones and hot cakes, use self-raising flour and equal quantities of flour and liquid. For Breton galettes, use buckwheat flour.

• It is important to use a ­well-seasoned or non-stick pan and to make sure that it is hot before you add the first ladleful of batter, after lightly greasing the pan if not non-stick. Butter or lard works better than oil, which is inclined to give a sticky film to the pan. Tilt the pan to spread the batter over the base and once the surface shows small holes, then it is time to turn the pancake over and cook the other side, which will take a minute or so less.

• Pancakes freeze well, so it is worth making plenty, some for now, some for another day when you might not have as much time. Once cooked, stack them with greaseproof paper between them, allow the pancakes to cool completely and then wrap in cling film and foil before freezing.