Tasty crêpes no flash in the pan

Pop quiz: As the pizza is to Italy, and the taco is to Mexico, the ... is to France.

If you answered crêpe, tres bien.

The next question is, how often do you make crêpes? Never? You're not alone. While Americans have embraced pizzas and tacos, we keep crêpes at arm's length, imagining that these thin and tender pancakes, like the belle of the ball, are too sophisticated or unattainable to approach.

How sad. Or, as the French say, quel dommage. Because making crêpes is really very easy, and once you've learned how, it opens up endless possibilities for fillings both sweet and savory, fancy or rustic. That versatility makes them a valuable skill in anyone's cooking repertoire.

Unlike the image of a waiter theatrically flambéing crêpes Suzette on a trolley by your table, in Europe people eat crêpes as a snack bought from a street vendor or a light meal in a crêperie. No big deal at all, just delicious and quick.

The dish started humbly enough in France's northwest region of Brittany, where, according to food writer Lou Seibert Pappas, the pancakes were originally made of buckwheat flour, cooked on large cast-iron hot plates heated in a fireplace and eaten plain.

Today, diners choose from buckwheat crêpes (crêpes au sarrasin) or regular wheat flour crêpes, which are lighter. In either case, the batter itself is usually egg, flour, milk and water, but inevitably people tinker and add ingredients such as herbs, spinach purée, brandy and vanilla.

The pancake cooks in seconds, then is deftly flipped and cooked until the other side is lightly browned. But the home cook doesn't need griddles and rozelles, just a small skillet, preferably nonstick.

While crêpes are still sometimes eaten plain, mostly they are folded, rolled or stacked with a glorious assortment of fillings -- everything from the chocolate-hazelnut spread called Nutella to gruyère to tofu to bacon and eggs. Some crêpes are baked after filling, others served right off the griddle or pan.

For the home cook, crêpe fillings can consist of whatever you're in the mood for. After all, if you can put anything in a tortilla, why not a crêpe? And actually, crêpes can be easier to fill than tortillas -- especially corn tortillas -- because they're more malleable and don't need to be warmed, dipped in sauce or fried in oil to be soft enough to fold or roll.

How to make at home

Crêpes really are a snap to make at home, but if you're trying them for the first time, these tips will help:

For the most tender pancakes, blend the batter in an electric blender, then let it sit at least an hour to allow the flour time to absorb the liquid. The mixture will thicken as it stands, so you may need to adjust the liquid or flour after the batter rests. You want to end up with a consistency like whipping cream.

Many crêpe pros insist on greasing the skillet with clarified butter, because it's more flavorful than oil but won't burn like solid butter. However, we tested the accompanying recipes using solid butter and had no problems with burning. With either type of butter, don't use too much or the crêpes will be greasy.

Once the pan is well-heated and greased, add 3 to 4 tablespoons of batter and quickly tilt the pan so the batter completely coats the bottom. Don't worry if the crêpe isn't perfectly round or has uneven edges; after it's rolled or folded, the imperfections won't matter.

Because crêpe batter is so thin, the pancakes cook in less than a minute per side, so you can make enough to feed four people in short order. And since making them is so simple, you may want to make extra and freeze them for up to two months.