Making crepes may appear to be a daunting task. In fact, it’s not, but you have to be patient. This recipe for Savory Crepes will yield 10-12 9″ crepes, which are wonderful with a variety of savory fillings. One of my favorites is Wild Mushroom Crepes, which can be served as an appetizer, brunch or lunch course. There are many more, I will these as a make them again.
Tip : The pan has to be seasoned to make perfect crepes. This is a combination of the temperature of the pan, which must be heated before you start making the crepes and then by swirling the pan with the melting shortening to coat the surface of the pan. Expect the first, or maybe even the first two crepes not to be perfect, it happens. By the third, the pan should be fully seasoned, and you should be on your way.
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 whole egg
- 1 cup water
- lard for frying crepes
- pinch of kosher salt
Instructions
- Gather all ingredients before starting the recipe.
Batter
- Combine 1 cup all-purpose flour, a pinch of kosher salt and 1 whole egg in a medium sized mixing bowl and beat with a wire whisk until the batter is smooth.
- Gradually 1 cup water or just enough until the batter reaches a syrupy consistency, thinner than pancake batter. The batter should almost be watery and freely flow off a spoon, it is too thick if it resembles pancake batter and too thin if it pours like water.
Making Crepes
- Pre heat a non-stick frying pan over medium high heat.
- Add a sliver of lard for frying crepes or vegetable shortening when it's hot and swirl the shortening in the pan until it coats the bottom of the pan.
- Test for heat by dripping a small quantity of the batter in the pan, if the batter quickly cooks, the pan is hot enough, keep testing until the batter sets almost immediately.
- Remove the pan from the heat and, using a small ladle, add the batter to the pan, all the while swirling the pan until the bottom is coated with batter. If some holes remain in the batter, drip a few more drops on the holes and swirl again.
- Cook the batter for about 1 minute, then run a thin spatula around the edge of the crepe to loosen; when the crepe will form bubbles in the center, the crepe will be ready to turn.
- Turn the crepe over and cook for another 30-40 seconds, then check the underside and if it's beginning to brown, the crepe is done,
- Slide the crepe onto a plate and start at step 2 and repeat until all the batter has been used up. You will not need to test for temperature as the pan should be kept over high heat while cooking and only removed to add batter.
Author Notes
There are a very few dishes where I use lard as the shortening ingredient. One of them is crepes as lard seems to heat to the correct temperature.
If you use sour cream instead of crème fraîsche, make sure that you do not allow the filling to come to a boil after you add as the sour cream the sour cream may curdle.
One last note about the pan that you will use. A crepe pan is ideal, but any non-stick pan with flared sides (such as shown in my photos) will work just as well.
