Crêpes for everyone

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Who doesn’t like crêpes? Well, apparently some people don’t, but we will [try to] love them as much as we can anyways.

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I’ve named this post “crêpes for everyone” because I believe this food can satisfy anyone and everyone. With a basic batter recipe that you can make in 5 minutes, you are able to then get all creative, combining ingredients, going for the savoury or the sweet, using leftover ingredients in your fridge or being fully prepared with ham and cheese on one hand, and nutella on the other.

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This post won’t be long, as opposed to most of my other posts. A couple things to mention:

  • Flour: you can use almost any kind of flour, the classical Breton crêpes are made with buckwheat flour, but you can use regular wheat flour or be a bit more alternative (spelt, rye). If you are gluten-intolerant, try out chickpea flour. I actually made these crêpes that you see here with gram (chickpea) flour and they turned out delicious!

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  • Egg: if you are vegan, you could skip the egg, but the consistency of the crêpe will be more of a tortilla. I haven’t tried substituting egg for flegg (flax seeds grounded  + water) but you could try that. Chickpea flour + water is sometimes used as a sub for egg in Spanish tortilla so you could try that too.
  • Milk: I used soya milk but any milk with 1-2% fat content should work fine. If you are going for plant-based, almond milk has very little or no fat, so I’d go for a thicker one.

If when you make the batter you have some leftovers, you can keep it in the fridge in an airtight container for 1 day, or use it all by making crêpes then reheating them during the next 1-3 days.

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My favourite way of eating crêpes is to par-cook them, place them on a plate, then create a crêpe-making station. Mathieu and Eugenie came home a while ago and did exactly this, and they’re French, so they know what they’re doing…

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You could have a savoury and a sweet station. The savoury station could have a couple of plates with:

  • Greens: baby spinach, arugula, or herbs! Cilantro, basil, parsley…
  • Cooked vegetables: sweet potatoe, aubergine, mushrooms, courgette, tomatoes
  • Cheeses: parmesan, goat cheese, halloumi, mozzarella
  • Nuts and seeds: pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, walnuts, cashews, almonds
  • Fruits: apple, avocado
  • Meats: different kind of hams or cured meats

The sweet station could include:

  • Fruits: banana, strawberries, raspberries, apple, blueberries
  • Nuts and seeds: pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, walnuts, cashews, almonds
  • Jams: orange, berries…
  • Chocolate sauce or nutella
  • Syrups: agave, maple

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I hope you try making them soon. If you enjoy them or have any feedback, suggestions… please let me know 🙂

Cheers,

Silvia


Recipe: Crêpes for everyone

Total time: 15 mins + prep work, depending on the fillings

Notes: serves 2, or about 4-6 small crêpes

Ingredients

Crêpe

  • 1 egg
  • 50g flour
  • 75ml milk
  • salt, pepper and grounded chili

I used chickpea flour (gluten-free) because I was curious to see what the result would be like. You can use whichever flour you have at home.

Savoury fillings

  • Roasted sweet potatoes (oven at 200º, slice in half, sprinkle with salt and paprika, bake for 20-30 mins until mushy)
  • Any greens: baby spinach and cilantro, chopped
  • Goat cheese
  • Apple, sliced
  • Parmesan
  • Toasted nuts (I used almonds)

Sweet fillings

  • Fruits: blueberries, strawberries, banana, apple
  • Yoghurt
  • Homemade chocolate sauce: mix 1 tsp cocoa powder, 1 tsp agave syrup/honey + 1 tsp milk, whisk then pour.

The fillings and toppings are up to you, really! Above are the ones I used but there are no rules, go with your gut.

Instructions

  1. Crack the egg, pour in milk, whisk.
  2. Add the flour and whisk until it reaches a semi-liquid consistency. The more liquid the batter is, the thinner the crêpe will be. The thicker and less liquid the batter is, the thicker the crêpe will be.
  3. Set a non-stick pan to low heat, add 1/2 tsp oil, wipe the pan with a kitchen paper to spread the oil.
  4. Cook a first “test crêpe” (first one never turns out quite right) to check the heat of the pan. Add 1 tsp of batter to the ban, swirl the pan to spread the batter. Cook for about 20-30 seconds until you are able to flip the crêpe. Cook the other side for 20 seconds. Repeat, now adding a good amount of batter (2-3 tbsp), depending on the how big you want your crêpes. If the crêpes seem to stick to the pan, add a little oil before pouring the batter. Ideally, use a non-stick pan to avoid overdoing it with the oil. Alternatively, add oil to the batter in advance, and whisk it altogether.

I like par-cooking all the crêpes ahead, let everyone make their own on a plate, and finish them off by cooking on the pan for 1-2 minutes. This gives you a bit more freedom and calm to prepare the crêpes the way you want it, without burning your fingers or overcooking the crêpe.

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