I would have never suspected that tonight I would discover one of the best dishes - nay - best experiences I’ve ever had! After a day of working in the studio, I came home hungry but unenthused to cook. A glance in the fridge didn’t reveal much, and the local Pizza place -The Pizza Foundation…Amazing!- was unfortunately closed. I dug deep into my soul and found what creativity I had left to make something of what was available. I decided that a batch of buckwheat crêpe batter leftover from the weekend would be sufficient. We found the recipe on David Lebovitz’ blog, and it goes a ‘lil something like this:
"Buckwheat Crêpes
18-20 crêpes
It's best to let the batter chill overnight, but let it come to room temperature prior to frying them up. And keep stirring the batter as you go while frying since the flour tends to sink to the bottom.
2 cups (500 ml) whole milk
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
3 tablespoons (80 gr) butter, salted or unsalted, melted
1/2 cup (70 gr) buckwheat flour
3/4 cup (105 gr) all-purpose flour (In France, I use type 65)
3 large eggs
In a blender, or with a whisk, mix together all the ingredients until smooth. Cover and chill overnight.
To fry the crêpes, remove the batter from the refrigerator about an hour before frying. Stir it briskly; it should be the consistency of heavy cream. (If not, you can add a tablespoon of milk.)
Heat a 8- to 9-inch skillet on the stovetop. You can use a real crêpe pan that's been seasoned, but I use a Tefal non-stick skillet which works great.
Drop a tiny piece of butter or neutral oil in the hot pan and wipe it around with a paper towel. (I only do this for the first crêpe.)
Lift the pan and pour 1/4 cup of the batter in the middle of the hot skillet, swirling the pan to distribute the batter quickly and evenly. The pan shouldn't be too hot or too cold: the batter should start cooking within a few seconds, giving you just enough time to swirl it. It may take a couple of crêpes for you to get your rhythm.
After about a minute, run a non-stick spatula around the underside of the rim of the crêpe, then flip the crepe over. I grasp the crepe with my fingers, but you're not me (...consider yourself lucky!) and I'm not you. So use the spatula if you wish.
Let the crêpe cook on the flip side for about 30 seconds, then slide it out onto a dinner plate. Repeat, cooking the crepes with the remaining batter, stirring the batter every so often as you go.
Crêpes should be served warm. To rewarm the crêpes for serving, fold the crepes and put them in a baking dish covered with foil. Heat them in a moderate oven until warmed through."
So I made some savory crepes with manchengo, oyster mushrooms, bell peppers deglazed in sake…..not bad. But then the magic happened. Over the weekend Emily introduced me to the Lemon and sugar method, where by one sprinkles lemon juice and sugar on the crêpe just before serving. This technique gives a swift kick of summer in winter’s ass…it’s fantastic. But looking around the kitchen this evening I realized we had used all the lemons. However, we had two Citron Vert (pretentious French for lime) and I figured I’d try the substitute. My god!.....nothing has ever been more magical. The sensation is beyond words, and my only reaction was to begin jumping up and down singing…ask Emily, it was a hilarious act for her. I refused to settle at my discovery, and decided to push the limits of possibilities. I took a bottle of our homemade vanilla extract and sprinkled a few drops on the surface with the limejuice just before removing it from the iron pan. The result was nothing short of one of the most incredibly experiences I have ever had…I kid you not, this transcended transplendent!
If you are reading this get up and do this now….now I say! Life is too short to miss out on this!
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