Friday, March 16, 2007

By request - savory crepe recipes

Savory crepes can really include anything that strikes your fancy. Good combinations are steamed vegetables with cream sauce, the same with mushrooms, with some yellow cheese (emmental, etc.) thrown in, julienned ham, whatever you like. Some of the quantities are inexact - I do this by eye, the ratios aren't critical, you just need enough cheese and/or sauce to keep the crepes from drying out when you heat them.

Here are a few easy combinations to get you started:

Basic crepe recipe
(can be doubled or reduced by one-third - since you can't easily cut 3 eggs in half):

1.5 C (375ml) milk (can be skim)
2 T vegetable oil (something light, not olive)
3 eggs
1.5 C (375ml) flour

Put the ingredients into a food processor or blender in the order listed. Blend until smooth. Pour 1/3-1/2 C of batter into a non-stick frying or crepe pan and swirl around to make a big circle. Cook on medium heat. Cook the first side until you see small bubbles and the crepe moves freely around the pan. Flip and slightly brown the other side. Repeat until all batter is gone. Stack on a plate until ready to fill.

Note, crepes are best used right away, or at least a bit later that evening. They don't store well.

Filling 1: Ham and Cheese Basic Recipe (sorry to anyone out there who's kosher, just substitute mushrooms if you are)

Ingredients (enough to stuff however many crepes you've made. Don't overstuff.):

ham/smoked turkey cut into small julienned strips
Shredded cheese - any kind that goes well with the meat
Binder - can be a soft white cheese (i.e. a mild bulgarian, feta, or goat cheese) or a thick cream sauce seasoned however you like (ask me for a recipe if you need one)

To assemble crepes:

Lay a crepe dark side down on a plate. Spoon a few tablespoons of the meat in a line down the middle, staying away from the edge. Spoon sauce on top of meat to mostly cover. Sprinkle grated cheese on the top. Roll up crepe (parallel to the filling). Seal with a bit of soft cheese if necessary. Place in oven-safe baking dish.

Once all the crepes are lined up in the pan, I like to spoon a bit of sauce over the top to keep them from drying out.

Heat through in a medium oven (15-25 minutes or so, depending on whether your filling started out hot or cold. Serve immediately.

Filling 2: Basic Mushroom Filling (nothing very exotic, just a good starting point. Get creative from there.)

Ingredients for 8 crepes:

1/2 pound (230g) mushrooms, thickly sliced
2 T (30ml) butter
2 T (30ml) dry white wine
1/2 tsp (2ml) chicken bouillon
1/4 tsp seasoned salt (or you can substitute mustard powder, tarragon, etc.)
dash pepper
1/2 C (125ml) sour cream
1 T (15ml) minced chives (optional)

Saute mushrooms in butter. Add wine, bouillon, seasoned salt (or other herbs/spices) and pepper. Cook over medium heat until bubbly. Stir in sour cream and chives. Heat through, but do not boil.

Fill crepes and heat through before serving.

Filling 3: Steamed vegetables with cashew ginger sauce (my favorite)
From Molly Katzen's oh so wonderful Moosewood Cookbook

Ingredients:
Steamed veggie of choice - I love this with julienned carrots, but it goes well with broccoli too)

Sauce:
2 C toasted cashews
1 C water
2 T minced fresh ginger (NOT powder)
1 T soy sauce
1 T honey or sugar (white or brown)
2 T plus 1 tsp cider vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
cayenne pepper, to taste

Puree everything together in a food processor or blender until smooth. If you've made the sauce in advance heat it through before assembling the crepes. This saves a bit of heating time once the crepes are in the oven and will help keep them from drying out.

To assemble crepes:

Place a few tablespoons of the steamed vegetable in your crepe. Top with a tablespoon or two of sauce. Roll and seal with a drop of sauce. Arrange in baking dish. Once all the crepes are arranged, spoon some sauce of the top of all of them. Heat through and serve.

I hope this helps you get started. Bon appetit, or as we say in Israel, B'teavon.

6 comments:

Susan Helene Gottfried said...

Ooh, now to find the time to make some for breakfast... Yum!

MissAdaptation said...

I am totally making crepes next week! And, will respond to your email tonight. Love,C

Uisce said...

we used to eat in restaurants when we'd go to Paris. on a later trip we discovered these guys on the street with griddles making the most incredible crepes we'd ever had! ham and cheese were our favorites.

Anonymous said...

Yummy! Those recipes sounds delicious. Thanks for sharing them!

Mom101 said...

Oh my goodness, this is a cruel, cruel thing to do to a pregnant woman with no skills in the kitchen.

Thanks so much for the very kind comments at my place today. You are welcome any time, day or night!

MaR said...

Wonderful! updated my post with this link. Thanks!