Recipe: Lunchtime Crêpes with Leftovers
Definitely not a foolproof take-it-to-work lunch, but for those that work from home (or want to save this for the weekend), we love whipping together some crêpe batter the night before, letting it rest and then filling it with whatever we’ve got on hand for lunch the next day. It’s warm, it’s satisfying and it’s quick.
We’ve really gotten into working from home and being able to use our kitchen garden for lunches like these. We can grab a handful of lettuce and some herbs to jazz up whatever lunch we’re making and it makes it all feel fresher and more satisfying even when we’re in a rush.
Crêpe batter is ridiculously easy to make if you’ve got milk, eggs, flour and butter on hand. We make it by feel until the consistency is right so feel free to play around with exactly how much flour, butter or liquid you’re using. Here’s a good jumping off point:
Basic Crêpes:
Makes about ten 7-inch crêpes
2 cups flour
1 cup milk
1/2 cup water
4 eggs
3 tablespoons butter
Method:
Mix eggs and flour and then add the rest of the liquid, leaving the water for last to see how much of it you need. You don’t want the batter to be thick like pancakes — more like tomato soup.
We’ve read recipes that encourage you to dump all the ingredients in the blender and call it a day. For us, it was just as easy to stir it by hand. The key is to let the batter rest for at least an hour, and up to overnight (and we’ve kept it on hand for a couple of days but if you’re squeamish at all, keep it to overnight). Resting it allows the flour to expand, so you might find you need to add a little bit more water.
Heat up a skillet and add a pat of butter. Using a ladle, pour in the batter and move the pan around to make sure that it’s an even, thin layer. Once the edges start to disconnect from the pan you can flip it and add your ingredients.
Leftovers to Fill the Crêpes:
• Any kind of cheese
• Rotisserie chicken
• Scrambled eggs
• Deli Meat
• Sauteed Vegetables
• Spinach
• Sauteed mushrooms
The best part is that after lunch you can whip up a sweet crêpe to top off a great meal:
The Sweet Stuff (for after lunch):
• Jam
• Butter and Sugar
• Nutella
• Whip Cream
• Bananas or any fresh fruit
(Images: Laure Joliet)