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Recipe: Buckwheat Crèpes 19 April 2007 8:23 pm

Posted by Tracy in : breakfast, cheese, cooking, dessert, eating, recipes, vegetarian , trackback

So back in February I realized Mardi Gras is Shrove Tuesday and an excuse to eat pancakes (not that I need one besides “they’re delicious”) and I made a list of pancake-type recipes I love and started drafting entries about these tasty treats. Yesterday’s post is one result of those efforts, and today’s is another, because after two months it’s about time (and also none of my other draft entries were this close to being finished.)

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Growing up, the word “pancake” did not make me think of thick and fluffy American griddle cakes, but rather Dutch-style pannekoeken, which are much closer to French crèpes or galettes. I don’t know if this is right, but in my mind crèpes are think made with white flour and wrapped around sweet things, whereas galettes are made with whole-grain flour and have savory fillings. The pannekoeken of my childhood were made with multigrain pancake mix, rolled around sweet fillings like jam and brown sugar and sugar beet syrup, and eaten with a knife and fork, the better to sop up the excess filling that always dripped out onto the plate. Yum.

Eventually I learned not only about American-style pancakes, but also about potato pancakes (ideally with sour cream and/or applesauce) and tasty variations on the Dutch kind, like pannekoeken with raisins in the batter, or bacon (my first experience of the latter sort of kicked my ass, actually — Dutch bacon is way saltier than the American kind, but I can see why my Opa loves it; he might be the only human being who digs the sodium chloride even more than I do). I learned about French crèpes and galettes, first in middle school and high school French classes, and later in France (especially the beautiful, wonderful town of Coutances, of which I will never speak ill). Most recently I learned about puff pancakes (which I refuse to call Dutch babies, because there’s nothing Dutch about them) and cottage cheese pancakes. I cook both multigrain and wheat-free vegan pancakes at Morning Glory, and sometimes special pancakes as well (corn cakes with hazelnuts, or granola pancakes with strawberries, to name a few). Pancakes! They’re all good! But whole-grain pannekoeken will always occupy the most special place in my heart. The following recipe is from a 2006 New York Times article whose author and title I have forgotten, but it is a pretty good representation of the kind of pancakes nearest and dearest to me (and suitable for both sweet and savory fillings, I might add).

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Buckwheat Crèpes

What You Need

What You Do

Combine flours and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add the eggs and mix well. Gradually add the milk and water, whisking vigorously to prevent lumps. Add the melted butter; whisk until smooth. (Alternatively, combine all ingredients in a blender or stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.) Cover the batter and refrigerate it at least one hour; stir before using.

When you’re ready to make and eat crèpes, lightly oil your skillet and warm it over medium heat. When the pan is hot, pour in 1/4 cup batter, or just enough to barely coat the bottom when you tilt the pan to coat it evenly. Go ahead and lift the pan as far off the burner as you like; the residual heat will be enough to keep the batter cooking while you make sure it’s well-distributed. Cook the crèpe until evenly browned, maybe 2 minutes, then turn it and cook until the other side is done, maybe 1 more minute. (If you want, you can sprinkle a littel finely grated or thinly sliced cheese on the crèpe before flipping it; once upon a time I used a nice goat milk Gouda for this purpose and it was spectacular.) To keep crèpes warm until filling and eating them, put them in a 175 degrees F oven on a baking sheet or heatproof plate, covered with a pan lid or damp towel. Crèpes can also be kept refrigerated on a plate, either in a plastic bag or covered in plastic wrap, and reheated for later use, either in the microwave or on a hot frying pan. Yum.

If you don’t want to put cheese directly into your crèpes while frying them (and you probably shouldn’t if you aren’t planning to eat them right away), it can still make an excellent filling, especially with roasted veggies, or maybe fruit if you feel like mixing your sweet and savory (fancy!) Other good savory filling possibilities include sautéed greens, because I love them forever. Some more sweet filling suggestions: jam, Nutella or whatever kind of chocolatey hazelnut paste you’ve got around (we’ve got a crazy Italian brand right now), chocolate, whipped cream, or even ice cream if you’ve given up all pretense of this dish being anything but a dessert. Go crazy! But whatever you do, do not, I repeat, do not forget to eat at least one crèpe with lemon juice and honey, because it is exquisite.

Comments»

1. Cj - 20 April 2007 9:30 am

I daydream about crepes! I took my mother out for her birthday last night to La Creperie. It is not really my type of restaurant– it is noisy and the wait service can be extremely full of themselves (YOU don’t look like you are going to tip, so I am going to stand over here ignoring you while chatting and filing my nails). It is also an extremely popular restaurant (it is pretty and the food is terrific– when it isn’t cold or stale), but it was Thursday night so I figured we would give it a try.
We had two lovely crepes (one sweet, on savory). And once again I am suprised at how simple and lovely the crepe is. Most pancake like objects are very cool! I make these amazing latkes over the holidays– fresh herbs and a very interesting “butter”. Thanks for the recipe. I will have to give it a try, but I will probably stash it away until summer when I will have company for cooking and eating food