Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Buckwheat Crepes with Spinach, Onions, Sausage, and Feta

My friend Peter and I made these buckwheat crepes a few weeks ago and loved them!  I've doubled the amounts in the recipe printed below because the fillings we made were not quite enough for three but there were plenty of crepes.  The amounts below should feed four, although extra fillings are always welcome so feel free to make a bit more if you're feeling extra hungry.

The crepes themselves are from the Food Network Magazine, and they were the perfect way to use up some of the buckwheat flour that's been in my pantry ever since I made these butter cookies from Alice Medrich.  Luckily it was still good, and it made for thin but hearty pancakes that stood up well to dinner fillings.  We mostly improvised the fillings, combining spinach, caramelized onions, sweet Italian sausage, and feta cheese for a semi-Greek crepe.  Any green would be tasty here - chard, mustard greens, etc., as would subbing out the cheese for another creamy cheese like goat cheese. 

Buckwheat Crepes with Spinach, Onions, Sausage, and Feta (adapted from Food Network Magazine)
Serves 4

For the crepes
5 T melted butter
2/3 cup buckwheat flour
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1-3/4 cups milk
3 large eggs
1/2 tsp salt

For the spinach
1 T olive oil
12-16 ounces baby spinach
Salt and pepper

For the onions
1 T butter
2 sliced onions
1/4 tsp dried thyme

To finish
4 sausages (we used sweet Italian)
Feta cheese, crumbled

1. Place all the crepe ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Scrape into a bowl and let rest at room temperature for at least 1 hour.
2. Make the fillings: Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a skillet. Add the spinach and cook until just wilted, about 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Heat the butter in another skillet over medium-low heat. Add the onions and thyme and season with salt and pepper. Cook until the onions are soft and lightly browned, about 20 minutes.
4. Cut the sausages into small pieces and brown in a skillet until cooked through.
5. Make the crepes: Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Heat an 8-inch skillet over medium heat until a drop of water sizzles in it. Lightly butter the skillet and then pour in a scant 1/3 cup of batter and quickly swirl to coat the bottom of the pan. Cook until the crepe sets and browns around the edges, about 2 minutes. Carefully flip the crepe and cook the other side about 30 seconds.
6. Repeat with remaining batter, adding more butter as needed. Stack the finish crepes, wrap in a damp dishtowel, and place in the oven to reheat, about 10 minutes.
7. Assemble the crepes: Fill each crepe with spinach, onions, sausage, and crumbled feta cheese.



Any leftover pancakes can be filled with sweet fillings for breakfast the next day.  This one is filled with an apple (peeled, chopped, and sauteed in butter until soft) and topped with grated sharp Cheddar.

1 comment:

  1. This looks delicious. Do you think some fresh chopped parsley would have helped as an addition?

    ReplyDelete