Pepin's Crepes With a Savory Take ...

Savory French Crepes for Dinner

Crack an egg and add some milk, water, parsley, flour, melted butter, and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Whisk it together and let it sit for a bit.

Channel your inner Frenchman by heating a crepe pan until it's good and hot.

Brush it with some oil and pour in some crepe batter. Swirl the pan to coat the bottom and watch it brown at the edges and develop air bubbles.

Slide a palette knife under the crepe and flip it. Brown the other side and slide from the pan. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat until all the batter is used.

Make a béchamel sauce and keep it hot. Sauté mushrooms and crisp some bacon. Chop some parsley.
Toss the mushrooms into the béchamel. Add a splash of dry Sherry. Swirl things together.

Lay a crepe onto the side of an oven-proof plate. Mound on some crumbled bacon, spoon on a good spoonful of mushroom sauce. Fold the crepe up, over, and over to make a cone. Turn it so the seam is down and the cone opening is slightly elevated up the rim of the plate. Rotate the plate and repeat with the remaining crepes.

Place the plate in the oven (300 degrees F) for about ten minutes to heat things well. Thin the remaining sauce with a bit of cream. Drizzle a bit of the sauce over the tops. Sprinkle on some chopped parsley.  Serve with a crisp green salad and a cold glass of white wine.

Voila ! Pepin's simple crepes with a savory filling ! Easy supper or lunch ! Bon appetit !

Pepin's Crepe Recipe

Ingredients:

3/4 c. flour

2 large eggs

1/2 c. milk

1/8 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. sugar

1/3 c. cold water

2 tsp. chopped parsley

2 tbsp. melted butter

canola oil for brushing on the hot crepe pan

8 oz. fresh mushrooms, thick slice

2 tbsp. butter

6 slices bacon, fried to crisp, drained on paper towels and broken up

1 1/2 c. prepared béchamel sauce
a splash of dry Sherry

fresh parsley for sprinkling

extra milk or some cream for thinning the last of the sauce for drizzling

Making the Dish:

1. Fry the bacon in a large fry pan. remove when crispy and drain on paper towels.

2. Remove most of the bacon fat and then add the butter to the pan with the mushrooms. Sauce until the mushrooms are browned and the moisture has dissipated. Turn the heat off under the pan and set aside.

3. Prepare the béchamel sauce in a separate saucepan.  Add the mushrooms and a splash of dry Sherry to the sauce. Stir things together. Cover and set aside.

4. Make the crepe batter by whisking together the eggs, milk, water and melted butter. Mix the dry ingredients and slowly add to the wet, whisking constantly to a smooth batter. Set aside for several minutes.

5. Heat a crepe pan over medium high heat. Brush with canola oil. Add about 1/3 c. batter and tilt the pan to let the batter run around the bottom of the pan, coating the entire bottom. Cook the crepe until the edges are golden brown.

6. Slide a spatula or palette knife under the crepe and flip it. cook the other side for about 1 minute or until it's golden when you lift the edge.

7. Slide the crepe onto a warm plate and repeat making the crepes. Stack the cooked crepes atop each there to keep warm.

8. Place some bacon on each crepe. Spoon about 1/3 c. of the mushroom filing over the bacon and wrap the crepe into a cone. Flip over to hide the seam.

9. Place the prepared crepes in a 300 degree F oven to warm them through.

10.  Thin the remaining sauce with a bit of milk or cream and drizzle the hot crepes. Sprinkle on some fresh parsley and serve immediately.


     OH! I can share this with Dom over at his monthly 'simply eggcellent' challenge ... check it!