I came across these crepes in a little
creperie in
Dublin City Centre about a year ago and have been
hooked ever since. It's hard to get tasty
nutritious vegetarian fast-food in this city so when i discovered these I knew I was on to a good thing. So delicious are they that I found myself making excuses to make the trip into town just because I was craving these crepes! So I decided to try making them at home (without whatever
secret addictive ingredient the creperie makes them with) to see if they would be as good at home without the bus ride and the trek across the city to the creperie. And indeed they are! Hope you enjoy them as much as I do.
INGREDIENTS:
Basic crepe recipe:
1 egg (preferably free-range)
1 cup of flour (Plain white or wholemeal)
1 cup of milk (+ more for thinning if necessary)
1 teaspoon butter (for frying)
Filling:
250g Frozen chopped spinach (defrosted)
1 medium red onion
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
salt & Freshly ground black pepper
Shop-bought garlic mayonnaise
4oz cheddar cheese (grated)
Everyone's got their own family recipe for crepes, but this one is nice and simple. Beat the egg, add three-quarters of the cup of milk and beat again. Add the flour, little by little, beating out all the lumps as you do. Stir in the rest of the milk until you reach the deired consistency ( I like it to cling to the back of a spoon, when poured, not much thicker than that, but it's a matter of personal taste, I like my crepes thin).
Once the pancake batter is made, chill it in the fridge while you prepare the filling. Finely chop the onion. Fry the onion in a small amount of Olive Oil until it softens. Add the defrosted, drained spinach to the pan, and continue to cook for a couple of minutes. Add the nutmeg, and plenty of salt and freshly-ground black pepper to the spinach mix as it is heating.
Heat the butter in a medium-sized heavy-bottomed pan until the butter has melted and sizzles slightly. ladel on a small amount of batter, and tilt the pan around until the bottom of the pan is covered with a thin layer of batter. Cook until the edges begin to curl and the surface of the pancake looks set, then flip it over and cook on the other side for approximately the same amount of time. When it is cooked, the pancake should lift easily from the base of the pan.
spread half a cooked pancake with the garlic mayonnaise. I was a little suspicious of the garlic mayonnaise at first but having tried this recipe with both regular mayonnaise and without any mayo at all, I have been converted. The piquancy of the garlic mayo and the freshly ground pepper are essential to bringing the spinach alive. Cover this with a layer of the spinach mixture, cover the spinach with a layer of grated cheddar cheese. Fold the other side of the pancake over the filling, and place the pancake back in the hot pan. Cook for 2 minutes each side, to melt the cheese and heat through and serve.
This recipe should make about six delicious, and, as the name suggests, highly nutritious crepes. I would reccomend one crepe per person for a light lunch or supper, two per person as a main course, served with chunky home-made potato wedges or baked potatoes.