Buckwheat Crêpes

By Martha Rose Shulman

Buckwheat Crêpes
Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times
Total Time
15 minutes, plus 2 hours' refrigeration
Rating
5(457)
Comments
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My favorite French street food, these are easy crêpes to make. If you keep them in the freezer, you can pull one out and top it with blanched spinach and a fried or poached egg for a quick and delicious meal. In France the crepe is made on a large, flat, hot griddle, and the egg is cracked right on top of it. That doesn’t work well in a home crêpe pan. It’s easier to have the crêpe already made and then top it with the fried egg.

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Ingredients

Yield:About 12 8-inch crêpes
  • 1cup low-fat (2 percent) milk
  • ⅓cup water
  • 3large eggs
  • ½teaspoon salt
  • ⅔cup buckwheat flour
  • ½cup unbleached white flour
  • 3tablespoons canola oil

    • For the Buckwheat Crêpes With Spinach and Egg

    • 6ounces baby spinach
    • Salt, preferably kosher salt
    • freshly ground pepper to taste
    • 2buckwheat crêpes, above
    • 2eggs, poached or fried for four minutes
    • 2tablespoons grated Gruyère cheese
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (12 servings)

146 calories; 7 grams fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 3 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 15 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 2 grams sugars; 6 grams protein; 198 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Place the milk, water, eggs and salt in a blender. Cover the blender, and turn on at low speed. Add the flours, then the canola oil, and increase the speed to high. Blend for one minute. Transfer to a bowl, cover and refrigerate for one to two hours.

  2. Step 2

    Place a seasoned 7- or 8-inch crêpe pan over medium heat. Brush with butter or oil, and when the pan is hot, remove from the heat and ladle in about 3 tablespoons batter. Tilt or swirl the pan to distribute the batter evenly, and return to the heat. Cook for about one minute, until you can easily loosen the edges with a spatula. Turn and cook on the other side for 30 seconds. Turn onto a plate. Continue until all of the batter is used.

  3. Step 3

    Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil, and add the spinach. Blanch for 20 seconds, and transfer to a bowl of ice water. Drain and squeeze dry. Chop and season with salt and pepper.

  4. Step 4

    Heat the crêpes in a dry skillet over medium heat (or use the skillet you used to fry your eggs). Top with a spoonful of spinach, and top the spinach with the egg, setting the egg to one side so you can fold the crêpe over. Sprinkle the cheese over the top, fold the crêpe over, and transfer to a plate with a spatula. Serve hot.

Tips
  • Advance preparation: These freeze well for several weeks. Stack them between pieces of wax paper or parchment, and wrap airtight before freezing. You can make and refrigerate them up to a day ahead of serving.
  • Advance preparation: You can have the spinach blanched and the eggs poached hours before you assemble these.Martha Rose Shulman can be reached at martha-rose-shulman.com.

Ratings

5 out of 5
457 user ratings
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Comments

Zackbox

This is an awesome recipe, and the crepes would be great with any savory filling. I wanted them for breakfast but also wanted to sleep in. I mixed them up the day before and refrigerated overnight. They were lacy and light. FYI to those who did not refrigerate the batter for at least 2 hours. This is the essential step because it allows the flour and buckwheat to fully hydrate and is what takes it from a thin pancake to an over-the-top crepe.

WiscoCooks

You may, indeed, make these with just buckwheat flour, or sub in the gf flour if you'd prefer.

LCV in VT

Buckwheat flour is gluten free. Can these be made entirely with buckwheat flour or can a gluten free flour be used in place of the white wheat flour?

Rizzo

I made the crepes this morning. Then for dinner I laid out several toppings/fillings for a DIY Crepe Bar. Smoked salmon cream cheese, lox, pickled onions, sautéed spinach, Mama Lil’s peppers, mozzarella cheese, PB&J, chocolate pudding, maple syrup, butter. It was so much fun and everything was what we had on hand in the pantry or the fridge. I’ll make these again for sure! Thanks NYT Cooking!

Kate

Refrigerating is no joke-- worked like a charm. I served with sausages, caramelized onion, gruyere and egg. In a hurry swiss and lunchmeat or pears, dates and goat cheese are delicious! This is a family favorite

SBK

Began when I thought we had BW flour. Didn't, so subbed whole wheat. Turned out lovely!

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