Recipe: Sweet or Savory Crêpes or Galettes, Crêpes Suzette

Sweet or Savory Crêpes or Galettes

Makes about 12.

Adapted from "Crêpes: Sweet and Savory Recipes for the Home Cook," by Lou Seibert Pappas. For sweet crêpes use the sugar and reduce salt to a pinch; for savory crêpes omit sugar. For galettes, follow savory recipe, replacing the 1 cup all-purpose flour with ²/₃cup all-purpose flour and ²/₃cup buckwheat flour.

• 2 eggs

• 1 c. milk

• ¹/₃c. water

• 1 c. flour

• ¹/₄tsp. salt (for savory)

• 2 tbsp. melted butter

In a blender or food processor, blend the eggs, milk, water, flour, sugar (if using), salt, and the 2 tablespoons melted butter for 5 seconds, or until smooth. Stir down and repeat if necessary.

Or, to mix by hand, sift the flour into a medium bowl and add the sugar and salt. Whisk the eggs until blended, mix in the milk and water and whisk this mixture into the flour and salt; stir in the 2 tablespoons melted butter.

For either method, cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour (though 2 hours is preferable) or up to 24 hours.

Pour in 2 or 3 tablespoons of batter for a 6- or 7-inch pan, or about ¹/₄cup for a 9- or 10-inch pan, tilting and rotating the pan to coat the surface. Cook until almost dry on top and lightly browned on the edges, about one minute. Loosen the edges with a metal spatula and flip the crêpe over using your fingers or the spatula, then cook the other side for about 15 seconds or until lightly browned. Turn the crêpe out onto a clean tea towel to cool. Repeat with remaining batter, stacking crêpes as they are cooked.

For serving immediately, cover the crêpes with aluminum foil and keep them warm in a preheated 200-degree oven. For serving later, wrap them in plastic wrap in quantities intended for each use and slip them into a self-sealing plastic bag. Refrigerate crêpes for up to three days, or freeze them for up to two months.

Nutrition information per serving:

Calories65 Fat 2 gSodium72 mg

Carbohydrates9 g Including sat. fat 1 g Calcium25 mg

Diabetic exchanges per serving: ½ bread/starch exch., and ½ fat exch.

Galettes Complete

Serves 2.

This offers an easy French twist on a popular American breakfast combination: Place a fried egg, sunny side up, in the middle of a warm crêpe, sprinkle with a little diced ham and grated cheese (and some sautéed onions if you aren't in a hurry), and voila!

• 1 medium yellow onion, diced

• 2 oz. diced ham

• 2 oz. shredded Gruyère, Swiss or other semi-hard cheese

• Vegetable oil or butter

• 2 large buckwheat galettes (see recipe)

Prepare galettes. Sauté onion in oil or butter until golden and set aside. Fry one egg per galette in a nonstick pan, sunny side up or over easy as preferred. Make a large galette in a nonstick crêpe pan (or reheat a pre-made galette on both sides).

Nutrition information per serving:

Calories470

Fat 28 g

Sodium754 mg

Carbohydrates27 g

Calcium380 mg

Protein26 g

Cholesterol283 mg

Dietary fiber3 g

Diabetic exchanges per serving: 2 bread/starch exch., 3 medium-fat meat exch. and 2½ fat exch.

Makes about 12.

The most famous crêpe recipe is no doubt the crêpe Suzette, invented by French chef Henri Charpentier in 1895 for the Prince of Wales, when Charpentier was a young apprentice at the Hotel de Paris in Monte Carlo. Charpentier later emigrated to the United States and became a famous chef and restaurateur.

• 1 orange

• ¹/₈c. granulated sugar

• ¹/₂c. (1 stick) softened unsalted butter

• ¹/₂c. orange liqueur (Grand Marnier, Cointreau or Triple Sec), divided

• 12 sweet crêpes (see recipe)

Remove orange peel with zester. Cream together orange zest, sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Beat in orange juice and ¹/₄cup of orange liqueur.

Prepare 12 (6-inch) sweet crêpes according to recipe at right. Fold crêpes into quarters. Heat the mixture of butter, juice and liquor in a large skillet or chafing dish and arrange the crêpes in an overlapping circle. Spoon the sauce over the tops of the crêpes so that all are completely coated. Bring the hot skillet to the table.

Before serving, warm ¹/₄cup of orange liqueur in a small saucepan or large metal ladle. At tableside, carefully ignite the warm liqueur and pour over the crêpes. Let flames subside before serving. (The effect is more dramatic in a darkened room.)

Calories485 Fat 30 gSodium220 mgCarbohydrates45 g Calcium85 mg ProteinIncluding sat. fat 18 gCholesterol81 mgDietary fiber1 g