French
Buckwheat Crepes With Cherry Tomato Conserva From Abra Berens
- Prep time 5 minutes
- Cook time 20 minutes
- makes 10 pan-size crepes
Author Notes
Brittany, France, is the traditional home of buckwheat crepes. The thin pancakes make good use of the texture of gluten-free flour. The slightly nutty flavor of the buckwheat plays well with both sweet and savory fillings and especially well with the salty butter of the region.
The real “trick” of making crepes is getting the right heat on the pan. When you ladle in the batter and swirl it around, you want to hear a gentle sizzle but not have so much heat that it browns the pancakes. Luckily, this recipe makes about 20 small crepes or 10 pan-size crepes, so you’ll have time to practice (which makes perfect). Additionally, the finished pancakes freeze very well and so are good contenders for pulling from the freezer as a pinch hitter when you need a fast dinner. Finally, a couple of notes: Don’t be put off by the amount of butter in the recipe; it keeps these from sticking to the pan. This batter is considerably thinner than pancake batter; that’s what allows for the easy spread as you swirl the pan. Have your ingredients at room temperature.
Grist: A Practical Guide to Cooking Grains, Beans, Seeds, and Legumes by Abra Berens with permission from Chronicle Books, 2021. Photographs © EE Berger. —Food52
Ingredients
- Buckwheat Crepes
-
1 cup
(155g) buckwheat flour
-
3/4 cup
(180ml) whole milk
-
3
large eggs
-
1/4 cup
(55g) butter, melted
-
1/4 teaspoon
salt
-
ricotta, for filling
- Cherry Tomato Conserva
-
5 pounds
(2.25kg) cherry tomatoes (or any amount really, but here more is more, in that you can do this in very large batches and then you will want to eat it in very large batches)
-
olive oil
-
salt
Directions
- Buckwheat Crepes
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour, 1 cup [250 ml] of water, the milk, eggs, butter, and salt and whisk until free of lumps. Or blend with an immersion blender until smooth.
- Heat an 8 inch [20 cm] frying pan (or two if you are up for it) over medium heat. Ladle about 1/4 cup [60 g] of batter into the center of the frying pan, lift the pan, and swirl it to spread the batter evenly over the surface. Return the pan to the heat and allow the crepe to cook through, 2 to 3 minutes.
- When the top of the crepe looks dry, use a small spatula or butter knife to lift the edge of the crepe and flip it over (you can also skip the flip, allowing it to get fully dry, but you’ll be more likely to get some browning on the pan side of the crepe).
- Allow the crepe to finish cooking, about 30 seconds, and then slide it from the pan onto a rack or tray to cool.
- To fill the crepes, either place the filling on one side of the crepe and flip it in half to serve (like a diner omelet), schmear the filling all over and fold the crepe into quarters, place the filling on one edge and roll the crepe like a tube, or place the filling in the center and fold up the edges of the crepe to make an open-faced square. I like to fill the crepes and then either place them in a baking dish and warm them in the oven before serving or pan fry the folded crepes to create golden brown crunchy edges.
- Spoon about 2 Tbsp of ricotta into the center of the cooked crepe. Top with a spoonful of Cherry Tomato Conserva (below) and fold up the edges of the circle to make an open-faced square. Warm in the oven (or pan fry for a crispy bottom) and just before serving, top with a couple of torn basil leaves or roughly chopped parsley leaves.
- Cherry Tomato Conserva
- Preheat the oven to 350°F [180°C]. Toss t the tomatoes with several glugs of olive oil and pinches of salt.
- Transfer to an ovenproof baking dish and bake the tomatoes, stirring every 20 minutes or so. The larger the baking dish, the more surface area you’ll have to evaporate the liquid, so the faster they will cook, but truly any size dish will work.
- Bake until they burst and the liquid reduces until thick enough to drag a spoon across the baking dish and not have the liquid run into the path of the spoon, about 40 minutes. *Cherry Tomato Conserva freezes perfectly
See what other Food52ers are saying.