Buckwheat Crêpes

Buckwheat Crêpes
Simple, elegant and French, what could be better.

    18-20 crêpes

    It’s best to let the batter chill overnight, but let it come to room temperature prior to frying them up. And keep stirring the batter as you go while frying since the flour tends to sink to the bottom.

    2 cups whole milk
    1 tablespoon sugar
    1/4 teaspoon sea salt
    3 tablespoons butter, salted or unsalted, melted
    1/2 cup buckwheat flour
    3/4 cup all-purpose flour
    3 large eggs

    In a blender, or with a whisk, mix together all the ingredients until smooth. Cover and chill overnight.

    To fry the crêpes, remove the batter from the refrigerator about an hour before frying. Stir it briskly; it should be the consistency of heavy cream. (If not, you can add a tablespoon of milk.)

    Heat a 8- to 9-inch skillet on the stovetop. You can use a real crêpe pan that’s been seasoned, but I use a non-stick skillet which works great.

   You can drop a tiny piece of butter or neutral oil in the hot pan and wipe it around with a paper towel. (I only do this for the first crêpe.)

    Lift the pan and pour 1/4 cup of the batter in the middle of the hot skillet, swirling the pan to distribute the batter quickly and evenly. The pan shouldn’t be too hot or too cold: the batter should start cooking within a few seconds, giving you just enough time to swirl it. It may take a couple of crêpes for you to get your rhythm.

    After about a minute, run a non-stick spatula around the underside of the rim of the crêpe, then flip the crepe over. You can use your fingers to help this process.

    Let the crêpe cook on the flip side for about 30 seconds, then slide it out onto a dinner plate. Crêpes should be served warm. I like to make them for my guests and serve them right away.

They can be sweet or savory. The one in the photo has applesauce, pecans and plain yogurt, I ate it for breakfast.

 I love to serve them with Swiss cheese, mushrooms and seafood (crab or smoked salmon). For dessert crepes you can top them with fresh fruit and whipped cream, drizzle them with warm chocolate and a scoop of ice cream or slather them with lemon curd and raspberry sauce.

In the recipe I use it said to re-warm the crêpes for serving, fold the crepes and put them in a baking dish covered with foil. Heat them in a moderate oven until warmed through. I have not tried this but it should work.

You can store the left crepes in the fridge or freezer. I have found the batter to keep well in the fridge for about a week.