Crêpes remind me of frolicking through France on my honeymoon opens in a new tab. Traditional French crêpes are magnificent; my favorites are ham and cheese crepes and dessert crêpes filled with chocolate hazelnut spread and banana. We received a crêpe pan as a wedding gift many years ago, but I had never used it. But I recently dusted it off and made a delightful meal for my family.
Crêpe dough:
4 large organic eggs (use 2 full eggs and 2 egg whites)
2/3 cup of non-fat organic milk
2 tablespoons of unsalted organic butter (melted)
1/3 cup of organic whole wheat flour
Pinch of salt
Vegetable crepe toppings:
4 slices of organic cheddar cheese
1/2 cup of organic tomatoes, diced
1/4 cup of organic green onions, diced
Two handfuls of organic arugula
Fruit crepe toppings:
1 large organic banana (chopped)
1/2 cup of organic strawberries (chopped)
1/2 cup of organic blueberries (chopped)
4 tablespoons of hazelnut spread (1 tablespoon per crêpe)
Confectioner’s sugar for dusting
I took a traditional crêpe recipe and made it healthier by incorporating egg whites and whole wheat flour. The first step is to create the batter. Thoroughly mix the eggs, egg whites, milk and butter. Then add the whole wheat flour and salt. Use a hand-mixer until the batter is smooth. Refrigerate the batter for at least 1 hour. This batch of batter makes approximately 8 crêpes.
The next step is to pour 1/4 cup of the batter onto a hot, oiled crêpe pan (or flat frying pan). Swirl the batter to coat the pan evenly in the shape of a circle. Cook until the batter is set and begins to dry on top, about 2 minutes, then flip it and cook the other side until both sides of the crêpe are golden brown, about 1 minute more. The process was much easier than I imagined and the crêpes cooked quickly. As you go, layer cooked crêpes between squares of parchment paper on a dinner plate. After all the crêpes are cooked, you can wrap and refrigerate them until ready to use.
For dinner, I took 4 of the crêpes and filled them with cheese, tomatoes, green onions and arugula and then rolled them up. Any vegetables will do; this is your opportunity to be creative. I returned the filled crêpes to the warm crêpe pan in order to melt the cheese, but you can also place them in a baking dish in a 350°F oven. I rounded out the meal with a healthy side salad.
For the dessert crêpes, I spread 1 tablespoon of chocolate hazelnut spread on each crêpe and then I filled them with the bananas, strawberries and blueberries and rolled them up. I topped them off with more fruit and a bit of confectioner’s sugar.
When we sat down to eat, my son asked, “What are crêpes?” When I replied that they were thin pancakes he said, “Delicious!” And the more he ate, the more he smiled. My husband enjoyed the crêpes as well. We even made him a special crêpe with lemon juice and cane sugar. The whole family was happy after eating this meal.
From simple dessert crêpes to elaborate savory fillings, there are so many delectable options when it comes to crêpes. What are your favorite crêpe fillings?
