Crepes are a wonderful thing. The sweet varieties are easy to find in any big city these days, and crepes with popular fillings like Nutella, Nutella and fruit, and sugar and butter have become classic favorites. They're lighter than a slice of cake or a belgian waffle, but because crepes are all about the fillings, they're the perfect food to satisfy an intense sweet craving. Savory crepes, however, are a whole other ball game.
They're harder to find in restaurants in North America, even though they make for a delicious, filling meal, but they're just as delectable as their sweet cousins. Savory crepes hail from Brittany, France, and they're traditionally made with buckwheat flour (instead of wheat flour), giving them a heartier, nuttier and slightly saltier flavor. These are sometimes called Galettes. Popular fillings include spinach and cheese, mushrooms, ham with cheese and bechamel sauce, and bacon and egg.
If you can't find a crepe restaurant in your city that makes both sweet and savory varieties, fret not! Making them at home is easy too.
Crepe batter has only a handful ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry, and you can use the same crepes for dinner and for dessert if you're feeling a little lazy. They'll still be delicious. Invite some friends over for a crepe party! Have them bring the wine and their favorite crepe filling.
David Leibovitz's buckwheat crepe recipe is a great place to start for a meal of savory crepes. You can make them for a crowd, frying up the whole batch and stacking them, and serving with many bowls of different fillings like shredded cheese, sauteed onion, chopped and cooked spinach, slices of ham, and some bechamel sauce for creamy richness.
If you want to go the egg crepe route, you can slip a fried egg onto a crepe, or better yet, put your crepe back in the hot pan and crack an egg directly onto it. Break the yolk and scramble it around with a spoon. The heat will make its way through the crepe and cook your egg to smooth perfection.
For dessert, make some sweet crepes. Use this fantastic recipe to make the batter and then fry them up just like the savory ones. Serve them in a stack along with some Nutella, fresh fruit, butter, jams, honey, maple syrup, sugar... the possibilities are endless and all delicious.
For some crepe inspiration, watch this amazing video where a Parisian crepe pro shows off his art. Happy crepe-making!
