Buckwheat Crepes With Asparagus Ham And Gruyère Recipes

BUCKWHEAT CREPES WITH ASPARAGUS, HAM AND GRUYèRE

Steps:

• Make the batter: Whisk together flours, eggs, buttermilk and salt until well combined. Put the batter in the fridge for at least 2 hours or, preferably, overnight. If necessary, thin batter with a little more buttermilk or water, to the consistency of heavy cream.
• Heat a crepe pan or well-seasoned cast iron skillet, about 8 inches in diameter, over medium-high heat. Use a piece of paper towel to rub a little butter in the pan, then quickly ladle in about 1/4 cup of batter. Swirl the pan to spread the batter all the way to the perimeter. Let crepe brown on one side for a minute or so, until crisp. Flip it over with a spatula (or carefully with your fingers) and cook one minute more. Don't worry about browning the second side. Adjust heat if crepe browns too quickly; the pan needn't be scorching hot. Remove from heat if crepe is cooking too quickly.
• Remove the crepe from the pan and set it aside while you continue to make 5 more. Stack crepes on top of each other as they are finished. (Crepes may be made in advance.)
• Bring a medium pot of generously salted water to a boil. Cook the asparagus for 2 minutes, or just until it is firm-tender, then drain and spread on a clean kitchen towel to cool.
• Heat oven to 400 degrees. Fill the crepes by laying each one top-side down, place a slice of ham on top, sprinkle generously with cheese, and lay 3 asparagus spears on top, off to one side. Fold over to make a half-moon.
• Put the filled crepes in one layer on a baking sheet. Drizzle with a little melted butter, then bake until they are crisp and the cheese is melted, about 5 to 7 minutes. Serve immediately.

BUCKWHEAT CREPES

Steps:

• Melt 5 tablespoons butter in an 8-inch nonstick skillet. Combine the melted butter, both flours, the milk, eggs and salt in a blender and process until smooth (set the skillet aside). Let the batter rest at room temperature at least 1 hour or overnight. Stir in the parsley, if desired.
• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Heat the skillet over medium heat until a drop of water sizzles in it. Lightly butter the skillet, then add a scant 1/3 cup 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 lift with a rubber spatula, flip over and cook about 30 more seconds. Transfer to a plate.
• Repeat with the remaining batter, adding more butter as needed and stacking the finished crepes. Wrap the crepes in a damp dish towel and place in the oven to reheat, about 10 minutes.
• Serve with assorted fillings.
• Heat 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add 2 sliced onions and 2 thyme sprigs. Season with salt and pepper and cook until the onions are lightly browned, about 20 minutes.
• Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 12 ounces spinach and cook until just wilted, about 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
• Heat 3 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 pound chopped wild mushrooms and 2 thyme sprigs; saute until the mushrooms are golden, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and add 2/3 cup heavy cream; toss to warm through. Remove from the heat and add a handful of parsley.
• Saute 1 1/4 pounds shrimp (peeled and halved lengthwise) in 2 tablespoons butter with 1 strip lemon zest, 2 tarragon sprigs and salt and pepper until the shrimp turn pink, 3 to 4 minutes. Add a squeeze of lemon juice and 1/2 cup white wine and simmer 1 minute. Remove from the heat; add 4 tablespoons chopped cold butter and some parsley.

BUCKWHEAT CREPES WITH HAM, GRUYERE AND CARAMELIZED ONIONS

Steps:

• For the caramelized onions: Melt the butter in a medium saute pan over medium heat. Add the onions and sugar and cook, stirring occasionally, over low heat until soft and caramelized, about 30 minutes. Stir in a few tablespoons of vinegar and cook for 1 minute longer. Add the thyme and season with salt and pepper. For the buckwheat crepes: Combine the milk, 3/4 cup water, the flours, oil, salt, pepper and eggs in a blender and blend until smooth. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours and up to 8 hours. The longer it sits, the more tender the crepes. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Brush a crepe pan or 8- to 10-inch nonstick pan with some of the melted butter and heat over medium heat until it begins to sizzle. Lift the pan at a slight angle and pour 1/4 cup of the batter into the center, tilting the pan to spread the batter to the edges. Return the pan to the heat and cook until the crepe is golden underneath, 1 to 2 minutes. Using a spatula, flip the crepe over and cook until golden on the other side, 1 to 2 minutes more. Transfer to a plate and cover. Repeat with more butter as needed and the remaining batter. For assembling the crepes: Return a crepe to the warm pan. Spread some onions over the surface, scatter some grated cheese over the onions, and tear a ham slice and drop across the surface. Fold the crepe in half, then in half again to make a triangle, and heat through to melt the cheese. Serve.

HAM AND CHEESE CREPES

Steps:

• Add flour, milk, eggs, and melted butter to a blender and process until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Set batter aside for at least 20 minutes.
• Heat 1 teaspoon butter in a skillet over medium heat. Cook onions, stirring occasionally, until they start to turn golden brown, about 5 minutes. Set aside.
• Coat a crepe pan or nonstick skillet over medium heat with about 1 teaspoon of the melted butter. Ladle about 1/4 cup batter into the pan, swirling the pan to thinly coat the entire bottom. Cook until small brown spots appear on the bottom of the crepe, about 2 minutes.
• Loosen crepe carefully from the pan using a spatula and gently flip to brown the other side, 1 to 2 minutes more. Slide crepe onto a plate. Repeat with remaining batter, buttering the pan as needed and stacking crepes between pieces of parchment or waxed paper.
• Assemble crepes, one at a time, in the still-warm pan; spread some mustard over one half, cover mustard with some ham slices, and top with Gruyere cheese. Fold the other side over the filling, pressing down slightly, and heat briefly just until the cheese starts to melt. Fold crepe in half again. Each finished crepe should end up about 1/4 the size of the original.

STUFFED CREPES WITH MUSHROOMS, HAM AND BECHAMEL SAUCE

Steps:

• For Filling
• Place porcini mushrooms in large bowl. Pour 2 cups hot water over; let stand 30 minutes to soften. Using slotted spoons, remove mushrooms from soaking liquid. Discard liquid. Finely chop porcini.
• Heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and saute 1 minute. Add porcini and parsley and saute 1 minute. Add wine and boil until liquid evaporates, about 2 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low. Mix in button mushrooms. Cover and cook until tender, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Uncover and simmer until liquid evaporates, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
• For Sauce
• Melt butter in large saucepan over medium heat. Add flour and stir 3 minutes (do not brown). Gradually whisk in milk. Simmer until sauce thickens, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Stir in nutmeg. Season with salt and pepper. Cool to lukewarm, about 30 minutes.
• For Crepes
• Whisk eggs and salt in large bowl. Gradually whisk in flour, then 1 1/4 cups milk. Strain into medium bowl. Let stand 1 hour.
• If necessary, add more milk by tablespoons to batter to thin to consistency of heavy whipping cream. Heat 8-inch diameter nonstick skillet over medium-high head. Brush with melted butter. Pour 3 tablespoons batter into skillet and swirl to coat bottom evenly. Cook until top appears dry, loosening sides of crepe with spatula, about 45 seconds. Turn and cook until brown spots appear on second side, about 30 seconds. Turn crepe out onto plate. Repeat with remaining batter, brushing skillet with butter and stacking crepes on plate.
• Place 8 crepes on work surface. Place 1 ham slice in center of each crepe. Spread 1 tablespoons sauce over each. Top each with 2 rounded tablespoons mushroom filling. Roll up crepe jelly roll style. Arrange rolled crepes in single layer in 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish. Spoon remaining sauce over.
• Preheat oven to 475°F. Bake uncovered until crepes are heated through and top is golden, about 20 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese.

BUCKWHEAT GALETTE

Steps:

• For the crepes: In a bowl, whisk together both flours and salt followed by the egg, milk and cider, making sure there are no lumps. Add the water: you may need more or less depending on how much the flour will absorb. Cover and let rest 2 hours to overnight prior using (does not need to be in the refrigerator).
• When ready, check the fluidity of the batter. You may need to add up to another cup of water so the galette isn't too thick. It should be the consistency of a thin batter. Pre-heat oven to 400 F. Prepare a crêpe pan with non-stick spray, then wipe it so there's no excess. When pan is hot pour a few ladles of the batter evenly and cook about 2 minutes. Add ¼ cup, each Gruyère and ham, followed by a cracked whole egg. Fold each side of the galette so it looks like a square and cook an additional 2 minutes until it's set. Place in the oven for 2 minutes to set the egg.
• Finish the galette with greens tossed with olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. Enjoy with a glass of Sparkling Apple Cider from Brittany.

BASIC BUCKWHEAT CREPES

Steps:

• Place flour in medium bowl. Whisk in eggs, 1/4 cup oil, milk, 1 1/4 cups water, and salt.
• Heat 10-inch-diameter nonstick skillet over medium-high heat; brush pan with oil. Add 1/4 cupful batter to skillet; tilt to coat bottom. Cook crepe until golden on bottom, adjusting heat to prevent burning, 30 to 45 seconds. Using spatula, turn crepe over; cook 30 seconds. Transfer to plate. Repeat with remaining batter, stacking crepes between sheets of plastic wrap. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover; chill.