French crepes are completely different from American pancakes. Both are delicious.
Ingredients for at least 12 crepes:
1 cup all-purpose flour
Palm of salt
1 egg, beaten
1 cup milk
Butter
Lemons
Mix the flour (sift it first) and salt, make a well in the center and pour in the beaten egg.
Add half the liquid and beat the mixture, ideally in a blender, until it is smooth. Add the rest of the liquid gradually and beat until well mixed.
Use kitchen paper to rub butter all over the base of a heavy frying pan. Put the pan over heat and watch the butter bubble with heat. Pour in some of the pancake batter and swirl the pan to spread the batter REALLY thinly over the pan. It is said, in Europe, that a lady should be able to read her love letters through a good crepe - that's how thin it should be!
Forgive yourself if the first couple of crepes stick a little. Rub the butter over the base of the pan between each crepe. By the time you're making the third, it'll be working beautifully. I usually put torn pieces of parchment paper between each crepe.
These crepes are delicious with just a squirt of lemon juice and a teaspoon of caster sugar but you can try anything - strawberries; chocolate sauce; banana; blueberries; salted caramel ... or with ham; gruyere; bacon; shrimp. Pick, as they say, your poison!
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