Classic, collaborative and distinctly French... CREPES!

The first recipe to feature was an easy call. It’s a French classic! It is one of the first dishes I was offered and given a recipe for on my first exchange stay in France at age 19. It’s a dish we prepared on plug-in electric burners in the dorm at university there a few year later. It’s the simple recipe my then boyfriend’s mom shared with me. It’s also such a standard, it’s one of the first things French children learn to appreciate and make. It’s… C R E P E S!!!

Luckily, crepes are easily converted to gluten free and dairy free! There are vegan/egg-free options you can find online, but I will not be focusing on that here to keep things simpler, and because those vegan recipes are easily found.

Following are the measurements based on a combination of the recipes I have been given by French moms over the years. The only thing different here is a bit more liquid than is needed when using normal all-purpose flour in order to achieve the right thinness of batter and crepe. The resting time is also longer than usual to allow the gluten free flour to really absorb the liquid. The resulting crepes are delicate, thin, and almost lacy. They can be used for savory or sweet applications. They freeze easily, too!

Ingredients

2C (250g) AP gluten free flour, sifted

3 eggs

1 TBSP oil (a neutral oil or even walnut oil, almond oil, or melted, cooled butter)

1 TBSP rum or kirsch

1 TBSP sugar (if using for dessert only)

3 cups (750 ml) milk (if using almond milk, use a bit less than indicated and make up the difference with a little coconut milk to give the liquid more body)

Method

In a mixing bowl, whisk flour & salt. Make Well in center and add eggs one at a time, whisking as you go. Add oil and alcohol. Add milk little by little until there are no more lumps.

Cover and refrigerate 4 hours or overnight. When ready to use, stir up the batter which should be quite runny. Pass it through a mesh sieve to remove any lumps and incorporate any settled flour.

WATCH THIS SPACE FOR A VIDEO TUTORIAL ON TECHNIQUE

Using a crepe pan or an 8”-9” (preferably non-stick) frying pan, preheat the pan over medium heat. Using a folded bit of paper towel that has a bit of cooking oil on it, rub the oiled paper over the pan to cover the entire cooking surface. Keep the paper handy as you will need to re-grease the pan lightly every few crepes or so.  

Now, focus…

Once the pan is nice and hot, fill a standard soup ladle with crepe batter. Grasping the handle of the frying pan with your free hand, raise it from the burner and begin to moderately empty the ladle at about 2:00 on the pan, moving the ladle counter- clockwise over the pan as you swirl it, while filling in gaps with batter as you go. You need to fill the base of the pan fully, but do not need to use all the batter in the ladle as the goal is a very thin crepe.

Let the batter set, which should take approximately 2-3 minutes. You should see the edges of the crepe begin to pull away from the sides. At this point the crepe is ready to flip! I recommend using a long, offset spatula for flipping. Because these are gluten free, and there is less ‘strength’ to the batter, the longer spatula provides more support when flipping. You may occasionally notice a small tear on the edge of your crepe near the spatula, but do not worry as it will fall back into place easily. Cook for 1-1.5 minutes and remove to a plate.

Do not fret as the first crepe is usually a tester/throwaway so you can taste the crepe batter, work out the volume of batter in your ladle and hone your swirling technique.

Pile your crepes on top of each other as you finish. The top crepes will keep the ones under them soft.

Depending on the size of your pan, you should end up with anywhere from 12-15 crepes depending on how thin they are.

Because it takes approximately 3.5 minutes per crepe times 15, making crepes can mean a long time standing over a hot stove. You can’t really walk away. In France, it’s not uncommon for family members and guests to each take their turn at the stove cooking their own crepes, having multiple pans going at a time. Regardless of how you attack this, you will have a plateful of delicious blank canvases waiting to be decked out…

To serve:

Sweet ~

Sprinkle of sugar

Sprinkle of sugar plus lemon juice

Spread with Nutella

Spread with jam

Fill with fruit such as berries and or bananas, top with whipped cream

(in the dorm we did sliced bananas, whipped cream from a can, and a sprinkle of Nesquik since we didn’t have plain cocoa powder)

There are increasingly complex and fancy preparations. You can let your imagination go wild.

Savory ~

Boursin, smoked ham and mixed greens

Sauteed mushrooms, spinach and either leftover ham or chicken with a mornay (bechamel + cheese) sauce.

Fill with steamed asparagus and or wilted greens, drizzle with hollandaise sauce.

Boursin, thinly-sliced black forest ham and mixed greens with pea shoots