I was once in love with an astonishingly beautiful French woman possessing an unmatched gentleness. We shared her small Paris apartment filled with so many a magical moments a writer like me is muted by the meagerness of words. Along with being a top shelf intellectual she was an amazing chef who taught me the art of French & Mediterranean cuisines, and introduced me to the multi-dimensional world of crepes. Buckwheat crepes are a staple for savory cuisines, like the fish in white sauce crepe shown. This crepe batter recipe is not hers, but a facsimile best matching my memory . . . minus the magic she always added or course . . .
Ingredients
- 225 g Buckwheat flour (~1.5 cups) – can use whole wheat flour
- 275 g Water (~10 oz) – or more as necessary
- 185 g Whole Milk (~6 oz)
- 40 g Olive oil (~3 TBL)
- 1 Egg
- 3 g Salt (~0.5 tsp)
Process
- Mise en Place – Measure and prepare your ingredients prior to starting.
- Make batter 2-24 hours prior to cooking.
- Whisk egg, oil, milk, water, and salt together
- In stages, add ~ 1/4th of the flour to liquid mix and whisk out lumps.
- Repeat until all the flour is incorporated.
- The batter should be thin so it spreads evenly when poured onto the skillet.
- You need to let the batter rest to stabilize the consistency while allowing nature to mature the taste and texture. Place in covered container (put in in fridge if not using within two hours).
- Heat nonstick skillet on Med-High or better yet, use an electric crepe machine.
- Brush surface with olive oil. Add ~1/4 cup of batter to skillet; spread to coat bottom.
- Cook crepe until golden on bottom, adjusting heat to prevent burning.
- Using a long spatula, turn crepe over and cook the other side.
- Build the crepe with the garniture (i.e., garnish) of your imagination.
Note 1: For the crepe in the picture above, I used a fish in white sauce garniture but anything goes when it comes to making a crepe; as my French chef would say, “It’s open bar,” when it comes to what’s possible.
Note 2: The crepes are best when made and served as soon as the crepe is made, but depending on how you plan to serve them, they can be made ahead time and reheated, say for example, if you are hosting a dinner party and need to serve 12 crepes all at once you can build the crepes and heat them in the oven.
