Let's hear it for crêpes!

What do we think of when someone mentions crêpes? For most of us, what comes to mind is a thin pancake, rolled around a sweet fruity jam or rich creamy filling, often topped with whipped cream. Or, you may imagine the flames of Grand Marnier liqueur burning as a plate of Crêpes Suzette is set alight by your waiter.

The word crêpe (as well as the food itself) comes to us from France. The name translates as “curled” and the region of its origin is Brittany in the northwest part of the country. Since they’re usually associated with dessert, you may not immediately consider how well crêpes will work in savory presentations.

Like so many foods, there are many dishes similar to the French version of the rolled or folded pancake in many different cuisines: think of the Spanish enchilada, the Chinese egg roll, the Russian blintz or the Ethiopian injera.

Each of these begins with a watery batter, made with wheat, buckwheat or teff flour. They range in texture from the dry, corn tortilla to the papery egg roll wrapper to the slightly spongy injera. All of them provide the ideal contrast to the ingredients wrapped within.

One of the more surprising features of what appears to be quite delicate, is that crêpes can be cooked well in advance, then frozen for future use. And, making crêpes is not as difficult as the infomercials for special pans might have you believe.

All you need for perfect crêpes is a blender and a small nonstick skillet. The batter of milk, flour, eggs and melted butter needs the high-speed spinning of the blender’s blades to completely disperse the flour and emulsify the butter. Once the mixture is smooth, allow it to rest for at least 20 minutes.

During this time, the starch molecules in the flour are absorbing the surrounding liquid. This causes the molecules to swell and slightly thicken the consistency of the batter. Gluten that would have formed during the mixing step is starting to relax, and air bubbles are dissolving. All of this ensures a uniform, thin structure with a delicate (not chewy) texture.

Cooking a crêpe takes barely more than a minute. Ladle several tablespoons of batter into the hot skillet, then turn the pan from side to side to spread the batter completely across the bottom in a thin layer. Within 30 seconds, the edges will start to dry a bit and curl up, signaling it’s time to turn over your crêpe.

Using a very thin spatula or your fingertips, peel the crêpe from the pan and set it back in the skillet to cook the other side. You’ll know the timing is right if the first side you’ve cooked has a golden-brown design on its surface. After just a few seconds, the crêpe is ready to come off the heat.

If you’re making several crêpes in advance, store them between pieces of parchment paper or waxed paper, keeping them warm and pliable. For the dish in the photo, we made a half dozen crêpes before whisking together chopped ham, cheddar cheese, a few eggs and a dollop of cream.

The egg mixture was scrambled just until set, then each of the crêpes was filled and garnished with a sprinkling of snipped chives. Because the eggs were still moist, this was a lovely dish without any added sauce, although some mixtures of ingredients might need a topping of hollandaise.

Other ways to fill your savory crêpes range from your favorite omelette combinations to creamed spinach to pulled pork in barbecue sauce. The options are as unlimited as your imagination. For this week I’ve included the basic crêpe recipes for both sweet and savory versions, as well as my favorite way to make creamed spinach. Crêpes - not just for dessert anymore!

Savory Crêpes

4 eggs
1 C milk
1/3 C water
1/4 C melted butter
1 C flour
1/4 t salt

Place the eggs in a blender and pulse to break the yolks. Add the milk, water and melted butter; pulse to combine. Add flour and salt; process until completely smooth, about 60 seconds. Cover and set aside to rest for at least 20 minutes before cooking. To cook, heat a small, nonstick skillet over medium high. Ladle about 1/4 C batter into pan, twirling to spread batter evenly across the bottom. Cook until set, about 1 minute, then turn and cook another 30 seconds. Fill as desired with creamed spinach, scrambled eggs, etc.

Sweet Crêpes

4 eggs
1 C milk
1/3 C water
1/4 C melted butter
3 T sugar
1 C flour
1/4 t vanilla

Place the eggs in a blender and pulse to break the yolks. Add the milk, water and melted butter; pulse to combine. Add sugar, flour and vanilla; process until completely smooth, about 60 seconds. Cover and set aside to rest for at least 20 minutes before cooking. To cook, heat a small, nonstick skillet over medium high. Ladle about 1/4 C batter into pan, twirling to spread batter evenly across the bottom. Cook until set, about 1 minute, then turn and cook another 30 seconds. Fill as desired with braised fruit slices, ice cream, etc.

Creamed Spinach

2 lbs fresh spinach
2 T butter
2 T minced shallot
1 T flour
2/3 C cream
salt, to taste
grated nutmeg

Rinse spinach thoroughly and shake off some of the water. Place spinach in a large pot. Cover and set over high heat; steam until tender, adding more water, if necessary. Drain and place in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to finely chop; set aside. In a skillet, melt the butter over low heat. Add the shallot and cook until softened. Dust with flour and cook into a thick roux, stirring constantly. Slowly add cream, stirring to dissolve flour completely and remove any lumps. Stir in chopped spinach and cook until heated through. Season to taste with salt and freshly grated nutmeg.


Send comments, questions or recipe ideas to capeflavors@comcast.net.