Posted by: Hild @ 6:53 pm
After a mini-holiday skiing in Mont-Tremblant, Quebec, we were inspired to buy a crepe maker. We were inspired after having two meals at Crêperie Catherine - dinner one day and returning the next day for dessert. We had front-row seats to see how the crepes were made in their little kitchen. To a Norwegian, a crepe maker is simply a small “takke” on which we make lefse (see recipe for hardangerlefse). We also predict many other uses for a crepe maker including making quesadillas or simply warming up tortillas filled with all sorts of goodness. That would be more interesting than sandwiches, for sure!
Crepe ingredients - Alternative 1 (UK/Delia crepes):
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6 oz plain flour
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a pinch of salt
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2 large eggs
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7 fl oz low-fat milk
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3 fl oz water
Crepe ingredients - Alternative 2 (crepe recipe - came witht he crepe maker):
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2 1/4 cup flour
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1 teaspoon salt
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(1 tablespoon sugar)
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1 egg
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1 cup water
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1 1/3 cup low-fat milk
Crepe ingredients - Alternative 3 (Norwegian pannekaker):
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ca. 3.5 dl flour
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2 eggs
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6 dl low-fat milk
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1 teaspoon salt
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(1-2 teaspoons sugar)
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(1 tablespoon margarine or butter)
Mix the eggs, milk and water gradually to the flour and salt.
Avoid getting a lumpy batter. If you are unlucky (like we frequently are), simply strain the batter before cooking the crepes. Heat up the crepe maker (our brand needs mark 4-5). Put sufficient amount of batter to the middle of the crepe maker and use a crepe-scraper to spread the batter in a smooth and circular motion. We are still applying the trial-and-error method to determine how much batter and how to spread it evenly…. simply eat the errors. Cook the crepe 10-15 seconds on each side. Flip the crepe back to the first side and add filling as you like.
Some of the crepe fillings that we’ve tried:
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Sliced/chopped ham, grated swiss cheese, a dash of maple syrup, freshly grated pepper
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Peeled/sliced sweet apples, thinly sliced brie, a dash of maple syrup, freshly grated pepper
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1 beaten egg, sliced/chopped ham, grated cheese
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Ricotta cheese, handful of fresh baby spinach, freshly grated pepper
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Ricotta cheese, peeled/sliced sweet apples, a dash of maple syrup (this one got a bit too soggy!)
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Italian meatballs, fresh mozzarella cheese, tomato sauce (e.g. Prego)
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Slices of steamed salmon, peas, sweet corn, tzatziki sauce
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We haven’t tried sweet ones yet, but we’re picturing chocolate sauce, bananas, berries, manchar…. nam nam
We prefer to put the filling in the middle of the crepe and fold in the sides twice to make an envelope. This crepe-envelope can be flipped over and cooked/heated on both sides. For easy taste testing with family and friends we have loaded the filling down the middle of the crepe and folded over once to slice it up in several pieces.
I’m sure we’ll think of more ways of doing this as just about everything we eat now ‘goes’ past the crepe maker!!!
Some photos: (1) Rob adding batter to the crepe maker. (2) Ham and cheese filling. (3) Apple, brie and maple syrup
