Who would not want to dine on a fabulous fruit crepe for breakfast? Maybe you would prefer a breakfast crepe with a bacon, egg, and portabello mushroom filling. Few such simple recipes as the French crepe have taken on such a royal personna. They, in essence, are a royal queen, while soft shelled tacos and burritos are the pauper cousins.
Crepes, which originally were a street vendor item, now make an elegant appearance in the finest of restaurants. This has misled many people to believe crepes must be quite difficult to prepare. Crepes are proof positive that presentation and atmosphere are as important as the quality of the food being served. Whether eaten at a five star restaurant for an extavagant amount of money or the local IHOP at a reasonable price, these versatile crepes are quite a culinary delight.
Crepes have become breakfast, brunch, a light lunch, dessert, a hearty dinner entree, or a wonderful snack. They may be eaten on a diet, sweetened or unsweetened, vegetarian, or stuffed with a variety of meat mixtures. The filling is limited only to your imagination and the ability to prepare your mind's desire.
The actual crepe recipe can vary slightly from cook to cook and is made according to intended fillings. The following recipes will give you a sweetened and unsweetened version for the basic crepe along with a few filling recipes to assist you if you have never attempted to make crepes. All basic crepe recipes require the use of a heavy, shallow pan with a non-stick surface for success and some practice. This can be a good quality non-stick skillet or griddle, or a well seasoned iron skillet.
CREPES RECIPE
This sweet version is an excellent one for most fruit fillings, apples in particular.
INGREDIENTS:
2 Eggs
1/2 Cup Water
1 Cup Milk
1 Cup Flour
2 Tablespoons Oil
1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
3 Tablespoons Sugar
1/4 teaspoon Salt
DIRECTIONS:
Whisk the flour and eggs together in a large mixing bowl. Slowly add in the milk and water. Add in the salt, cinnamon, sugar, and oil, and beat until the mixture is smooth.
Bring a skillet or griddle to medium heat, which you have lightly greased with butter. Pour three-four tablespoons of the mixture into the skillet and tilt the skillet a little to spread the mixture out thin.
Cook approximately two minutes, or until edges begin to slightly curl and the surface is dull. Flip and cook approximately 1 minute on the other side. Remove to serving plate and fill with desired fruit filling. You may omit the cinnamon if you prefer.
Fruit fillings can be fresh fruit(sweetend or unsweetened), a creamy fruit mixture, cooked apples or peaches, canned fruits like peaches, cherry or apple pie filling, or jelled fruits.
The following recipe is an unsweetened crepe, which also works well with fruit, but is the desired crepe for vegetable and meat fillings.
INGREDIENTS:
2 Eggs
1 Cup All-Purpose Flour
1/2 Cup Milk
1/2 Cup Water
1/4 Cup Salt
2 Tablespoons Melted Butter
DIRECTIONS:
Whisk together the flour and eggs in a large mixing bowl. Slowly add in the milk and water. Add in the salt and melted butter. Beat the mixture until smooth.
Bring skillet or griddle to medium heat, which you have lightly buttered. Add three-four tablespoons of the mixture to the skillet and tilt back and forth to thin out the batter. Cook approximately 2 minutes, flip and cook approximately 1 minute on the other side.
Remove from heat and fill with vegetable, meat, or combination fillings. You may fill with any fruit mixture as you would the sweetened crepe version. You may serve the fruit crepes with a dusting of powdered sugar or drizzle a powdered sugar glaze on top. Garnishing fresh fruit fillings with a small amount of sweetened fruit works well and reduces the total calorie intake.
VEGETABLE FILLINGS:
Stir fry green or red bell peppers and onion in a skillet with 1 tablespoon of cooking oil. This makes a very delicious crepe.
Zucchini and Onions - Stir fried zucchini and onions are very good! Wash fresh zucchini. Peeled or unpeeled, cut the zucchini in one inch cubed strips 1 1/2 inches long. Peel and quarter an onion. Slice the quarters lengthwise and toss with the zucchini. Stir fry in wok or skillet with 1 tablespoon cooking oil.
Stir fried Zucchini in Teriyaki sauce - Wash the zucchini. Peeled or unpeeled, cut the zucchini in one inch cubed strips 1 1/2 inches long. Stir fry in wok or skillet with 1 tablespoon of cooking oil. As the zucchini is becoming tender, add in 1 tablespoon of Teriyaki sauce and finish stir frying. This makes a wonderful lunch! Use as a dinner entree by adding a salad.
Broccoli and Cheese - Stir fry fresh or frozen broccoli in wok or skillet with 1 tablespoon of cooking oil. Remove from heat and toss with warmed Salsa Con Queso for a spicy treat or with melted cheddar cheese. This is a great lunch or dinner entree.
Sauted vegetables and mushrooms are fabulous. What are your favorite vegetables? Experiment with ways to use them as crepe fillings!
MEAT FILLINGS
Meat fillings can be mainly meat or meat and vegetable combinations and can be as varied as our individual tastes.
Creamed Chicken- Creamed chicken is a wonderful filling for crepes! It can be used as you normally would make it and the crepes served with a side dish of rice or vegetables at dinner. It can be altered to include more vegetables in the creamy filling and eaten for lunch or served for dinner with a side salad.
Grilled Chicken - Cut chicken breast strips into 3 pieces each. Grill or stir fry chicken using a small amount of cooking oil. Chicken is a great filling grilled plain, grilled with herbs, with onions, or with onions and green pepper.
Pepper Steak - Saute minute steaks, which you have cut into thin strips over medium heat with 1 tablespoon of cooking oil. After the meat browns lightly on both sides, add sliced fresh green or red bell peppers and onion. Saute until vegetables are tender.
Beef and Cheddar - Brown hamburger meat. Drain off excess grease. Remove to a mixing bowl and add melted cheddar cheese. Stir well before filling crepes. A great variation of this is to saute minute steaks, which you have cut into thin strips, over medium heat with 1 tablespoon cooking oil. As the meat begins to get tender, add in frozen peas. Continue to saute until the peas reach the desired level of tenderness. Remove to a serving bowl and add the melted cheddar cheese.
I hope these few ideas show you the wonderful versatility of crepes and afford you a nice change of pace in your menus.