Savory stuffed crepes

Let’s face it, everyone loves crepes, no matter if they’re sweet or savory. Sweet crepes are one of the most easy-to-make desserts – we love to prepare them during the weekend, when we’re craving for something sweet, but don’t have enough time to bake something. I love to fill my crepes with homemade jams – sour cherry, apricot, blueberry or peach. The best filling for crepes, in my opinion, is a combination of banana, chocolate spread and coconut. Yum!

In Romania, we have an impressive amount of crepes filling variants. In restaurants, you will find both savory and sweet crepes. Look for the crepes filled with cottage cheese, raisins and honey, they’re really good. When it comes to the savory ones, you can usually find them in the appetizers section of the menu. My personal choices usually include crepes filled with cheese, chicken, mushrooms, white sauce or red sauce.

I decided to make these savory crepes which combine a multitude of flavors: chicken, mushrooms, a bit of tomato juice, topped with a lot of cheese (I used cascaval, a traditional Romanian pressed cheese, but you can successfully replace it with mozzarella), baked in the oven for a few minutes, and then topped with sour cream and chopped spring onions. I’m telling you, these are divine!

We had these crepes for lunch – just out of the oven, hot, with two tablespoons of sour cream on top, and a bit of chopped spring onions, which enhance the flavor and give the crepes a bit of freshness.

The great thing about making crepes is that, usually, I don’t use a certain amount of each ingredient to get the perfect ones. I know that there are proven recipes which guarantee that you’ll get the best crepes, but mine turned out great every time using my method.

Just start with two eggs, beat them, then add a bit of milk and oil, gradually start adding flour, and alternate with the milk until the batter is smooth and creamy. If you want to make the crepes fluffier, you can add a bit of mineral water. If you want to make savory crepes, add a bit of salt. If you want to prepare them for dessert, adding a bit of vanilla extract will offer a subtle taste which goes great with any jam filling, and especially with my favorite, the banana, chocolate spread and coconut filling. Yum!

Ingredients

Crepes

2 medium eggs

240 g (2 cups) flour

500 ml (2 ¼ cups) milk

1 tablespoon (15 ml) oil (sunflower or olive)

A pinch of salt

Oil for brushing the pan

Filling

1 chicken breast

225 g (3 cups) mushrooms

1 onion

50 ml (1/4 cup) tomato juice

4 g (1 tsp) sugar

30 ml (2 tablespoons) oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Topping

250 g (2 ½ cups) shredded cascaval or mozzarella cheese

230 g (1 cup) sour cream

1 bunch of spring onions

Directions

For the crepes

1. In a bowl, beat two eggs and add the oil, salt, a bit of milk, then a bit of flour. Continue to alternate between adding milk and flour, making sure that no flour lumps remain in the batter. You should get a batter which is neither thick, nor runny. It should be smooth and just a bit creamy.
2. Heat a flat pan over medium. Brush the pan with just a bit of oil, and wait for 30 seconds or until the pan is hot. Using a ladle, take some batter and pour it in the pan. Swirl to completely cover the pan. Cook until underside of crepe is golden brown, then turn it on the other side until it’s completely cooked. Repeat with the remaining batter.

For the filling

1. Finely chop the onion, cut the chicken breast and the mushrooms into small pieces.
2. Heat the oil in the frying pan, then sweat the finely chopped onion until it becomes translucent.
3. Add the chicken breast and let it cook through, turning the pieces on each side.
4. Add the mushrooms and let them cook until they are golden brown.
5. Add the tomato juice and the sugar, stir for 2-3 minutes, then turn off the heat.
6. Fill each crepe with 2 tablespoons of the chicken mushroom mixture and place them horizontally in a baking tray.

For the topping

1. Top the crepes with the cascaval or mozzarella cheese, and bake them at 180°C (360°F) until the cheese is melted and golden-brown.
2. Take the crepes out of the oven, leave them to cool for a few minutes, then top each portion with some sour cream and chopped spring onions.