These delicious savory crepes are filled with a variety of vegetables, herbs and cheeses to make a perfect for lunch or brunch. Simply add a green salad to complete a meal.
When you are working with what you have in your refrigerator and this is the end result, it can be very satisfying. These savory crepes have a mixture of flavours, that include three types of cheeses, herbs, garlic, mushrooms, asparagus, red pepper, giving it a creamy crunchy texture. I look forward to making this recipe when I have fresh local vegetables and herbs.
WHAT ARE CREPES?
Crepes are thin pancakes that can be make savory or sweet. It was first originate in France and from there travelled throughout Europe. In Hungary, crepes or what we refer them to is, Palacsinta was also one of the many countries to adopt the lovely decadent thin pancake.
In Hungary, most often you will see a sweet crepe or Palacsinta made rather then the savory. However, throughout the years, there are several variations created. My Mom would make them often to serve for a breakfast or brunch and sometimes a light lunch. I love crepes so much that I make them often and will try different recipes.
WHEN MAKING CREPES
Mixing the batter: once the eggs, milk, flour and salt are whisk and all lumps removed, cover and refrigerator batter for a minimum of one hour or overnight. The reason for this is to allow the air bubbles to release and the gluten to relax. As well, this avoids the batter from lifting during cooking creating a soft thin tender crepe.
Skillet or crepe pan: I don’t have a crepe pan, nor did my mother. So we used a non-stick skillet or fry pan which required adding very little oil to the pan. When making this delicate thin pancakes you don’t want to rush with it. It is an art, and once you master it, you will want to makes these over and over again!
The trick to get thin crepes: is quickly tilt and rotate when pouring the batter into the medium-hot skillet. If you are fortunate enough to have a crepe pan, then it should be fairly easy for you and straight forward.
Savory Asparagus and Mushrooms Crepes
Equipment
- Large skillet or crepe pan
Ingredients
Crepe:
- 2 free-range eggs, beaten
- 11/2 cup organic milk
- 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp butter/vegetable oil (to coat pan)
Filling:
- 18-20 (1 lb) asparagus spears (remove ends, cut into 1 inch diagonal lengths)
- 10-20 (1/2 lb) cremini mushrooms, chopped
- 1/2 cup red onion, finely chopped
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/2 red pepper, diced
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup light cream cheese, room temperature
- 1/2 cup Gruyere/sharp cheddar cheese, grated
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
Instructions
Crepe:
- Beat eggs with a wire whisk in a large bowl until frothy, Blend in milk. Gradually add flour and salt using the wire whisk to remove lumps.
- Cover and refrigerator batter for at least 1-2 hours or overnight. This allows the air bubbles to relax and release, as well this avoids the batter from lifting during cooking creating a soft thin tender crepe.
- Heat a non-stick crepe pan (or 10” fry pan is an option) over medium to high heat. Lightly brush your pan with either butter/oil and pour ¼ cup of batter into pan, tilting and rotating the pan to coat the entire bottom. Cook until the top of crepe is dry and lightly golden on the edges, about 30-40 seconds. Loosen the edges with a metal spatula and flip the crepe over. Cook the other side for about 15-20 seconds and check by lifting side of crepe and it should be lightly toasted. Place crepe on a flat dish and continue with remaining batter. Brush butter/vegetable oil to pan as needed. Set aside.
Filling:
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Soak asparagus in a salt water solution for a few minutes to remove any hidden dirt. While asparagus is soaking, prepare the mushrooms, red onion and garlic.
- In a medium skillet, saute the cut asparagus, mushrooms, red onion, and garlic for about 5 minutes, season with salt.
- In a medium bowl, mix in the cheeses, oregano, thyme and parsley. Add the saute vegetables.
- Spoon ½ cup filling down the center of each crepe and roll to enclose. Lay each crepe in a greased baking dish. Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes or until heated through and cheese has melted.
- Serve once remove from oven.
- These crepes can be assemble ahead and placed in the refrigerator.
Nutrition
HOW TO MAKE THESE CREPES
Refrigerate the crepe batter for about 1-2 hours. This allows the air bubbles to relax and release and it avoids the batter from lifting when cooking it and creates a soft thin tender crepe. Coat the pan with oil or butter, I prefer oil, as butter tends to burn if the temperature is set a little high.
Arrange the crepes on a flat plate, ready for assembling. Prepare your vegetables once you have the crepes made. If you decide on different vegetables, just make sure they compliment each other and consider the order when you cook them. The more tender vegetables should be cooked last, for example zucchini, spinach, kale, tomato.
Mix the saute vegetables and cheeses together in a bowl. Scoop and arrange 2-3 tablespoons for each crepe and roll them carefully and neatly keeping all of the ingredients inside the crepe.
Bake the crepes for about 10-15 minutes, that is enough time for the cheeses to melt into the filling to create a delicious savory crepe.
