Savory Crepes

I have very fond memories of my childhood breakfasts. My mom made us breakfast every day before school and she would always ask what we wanted for breakfast. Usually we'd have pancakes but sometimes she'd make her version of an egg mcmuffin breakfast sandwich for us. Or, on occasion my dad would make us waffles for breakfast (which he would cheekily try to sneak wheat germ into, so once we got wise to that there would be some intense investigation before actually eating the waffle). I think that one of my fondest breakfast memories though, is of my grandmother's crepes. My grandmother (MawMaw) would make crepes by the dozen and we'd go over to her house and eat strawberry crepes until we thought we were going to explode. And MawMaw would always ask "how many crepes do you think that you're going to eat this time?" and I don't remember what the answer was but I know that the general idea was to eat as many as possible. Fresh crepes are tender, delicate, and delicious. They almost melt in your mouth so it's easy to eat a lot of them. We always ate ours with fresh strawberries and powdered sugar, except for my grandfather, who would put rhubarb on his. The first time that I went to France, one of the first things that I did was order a crepe Nutella and I was in crepe bliss. I've always associated crepes with sweets, even though I knew that they could be savory.

The idea of having savory crepes for dinner popped into my head and I jumped on it. I filled my crepes with fresh spinach, ham, cherry tomatoes, and feta cheese and it was delicious! I was always sort of intimidated by crepes. I think that I thought that only my grandmother could make them; however, as it turns out, they're very easy to make. David Lebovitz warns in The Perfect Scoop that the first one is always going to be a dud so don't worry about that little mishap. I got the hang of it after the first couple of crepes and after that it was a swinging good time. I will say, I made an utter mess in the kitchen while I was making these so I think that I still have a lot of work to do as far as technique goes. I don't know if I will ever be as adept as the people who work the crepe stands in France but they were so tasty and versitile that I know I will make them again.

Most crepe recipes are very similar and I used the recipe in The Joy of Cooking for my first foray into the world of crepes. This recipe is fine but it doesn't account for, or warn you about, the dreaded lumps in your crepe batter. I really thought that I was going to have to toss out my batter and start over but, since I was just cooking for me I decided to try it out with the lumps and see what happened. It turns out that the crepes turn out just fine with lumpy batter. However, David Lebovitz also suggests in his crepe recipe that you make the batter in a blender which I think is a fantastic idea and I will definitely, definitely do that next time.

Savory Crepes
adapted from The Joy of Cooking

1/2 c all purpose flour
1/2 c milk
1/4 c lukewarm water
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons of unsalted butter, melted
pinch of salt
Optional: fresh chopped parsley or other herbs, black pepper.

Note: for sweet crepes add 2 tablespoons of sugar and a dash of vanilla extract.

Mix together all of the ingredients with a whisk (I am definitely blending it next time!). Cover with plastic wrap and let stand for 30 minutes or in refrigerate for up to 2 days. (This allows the flour to thoroughly absorb the liquid and gives the gluten in the flour a chance to relax.). For savory crepes, I added a little bit of black pepper and some chopped parsley.

Place a nonstick or seasoned crepe pan over medium heat. Coat the pan with a little unsalted butter. Stir the batter and pour about 2 tablespoons into the pan (you can use a ladle, a measuring cup, whatever suits your fancy -- this is how I made my huge mess though, the batter drips everywhere!), lifting the pan off the heat and tilting and rotating it so that the batter forms an even, very thin layer. Cook until the top is set and the underside is golden. Turn the crepe over, using a spatula or your fingers (fingers work best here, it's true!) and cook until the second side is lightly browned. Remove the crepe to a plate (my first one was sort of a crumply mess but I ate it plain and it tasted great!!). Repeat the process.

Use immediately or let cool, wrap airtight and freeze for up to 1 month.

Fill crepes with anything that you like!