I love this Southwest twist on classic French crepes. Large crepes, cooked until crispy, folded then, filled with Southwest Chipotle Raspberry Grilled Chicken. Roll them into a cone for a great lunch on the go.
I know what you're thinking, "Crepe recipes? On a Southwest food blog?" That's what I thought. Until I tasted fajita steak and chipotle chicken wrapped up in a crispy crepe, that is.
We found a great little restaurant in Irvine, California last month called the Crepe Maker. The menu is built around a basic crepe recipe filled with just about anything you can imagine. Savory, sweet, Southwest, Italian, they have it all. My husband was skeptical, to say the least. "Crepes aren't really food. Are they?"
These crepes certainly are! I have never had a crepe like this. The crepes I have eaten are usually small and soft... delicate little things. The crepes at Crepe Maker are large and crispy! Think pizza sized. They are folded in half and rolled into a cone shape in order to hold such hearty ingredients as fajita steak, marinated chicken and even Tex-Mex combos with corn and black beans. My favorite crepe turned out to be the one I tried on a whim. It has marinated chicken, melted cheddar cheese, tomatoes, spinach, walnuts and... wait for it... raspberry jam! It was delicious! The raspberry jam added tartness and just a little sweet to the dish. The jam melted slightly in the warm crepe and spread itself around on the spinach greens. I've been craving the crepes ever since we returned home.
The cooks at the Crepe Maker shared their tips for making the perfect crepe. So, get your filling and your crepe batter ready and cook along.
1. Consistency. The batter should be a thin pancake like batter so that it will spread evenly but, it should still have body and not be too runny.
2. The biggest tip is to spread the crepe batter evenly so that it will brown evenly and crisp up without patches of uncooked batter. A crepe maker machine is used but, the cooks said they make crepes at home in a regular saute pan and they turn out just as well. If you don't have one of these "spreaders," just roll the batter around the pan and pour off the excess before the crepes brown.
3. Use an "off set" spatula that is long enough to fit under the entire crepe so the crepe can be flipped without tearing.
4. Make sure that the crepe browns evenly on both sides so that it will get crispy and be strong enough to hold the fillings.
5. Fold the crepe in half while still in the pan so that your warm ingredients will stay warm and cheese will melt to the crepe.
6. Work quickly when adding the fillings so that the crepe will not over cook or dry out.
7. Roll the crepe into a cone shape around the filling while the crepe is warm and can still be shaped without cracking.
8. Don't forget to make extra crepes to fill with carmel and fresh fruit for a low-fat dessert.
Here is a good basic crepe recipe to experiment with. You can always add things like chives or a tiny bit of chili powder to the batter.
CRISPY CREPE RECIPE WITH SAVORY SOUTHWEST FILLINGS
Ingredients
- 1 cup milk
- ½ cup lukewarm water
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ stick melted butter
- Vegetable oil for pan
- Spinach salad greens
- diced strawberries
- Pico de Gallo
- Raspberry Jam
Instructions
- Pour milk, water and eggs into a blender. Pulse a few times. Add flour and salt. Cover and pulse a few times again. Add melted butter and blend for one to two minutes. Scrape down the sides if necessary and pulse.
- Rest batter in the refrigerator for about 2 hours.
- Brush the cooking surface with oil. Follow the directions above. If you are using a large saute pan, pour a circle of batter into the middle of the pan and swirl the batter around to coat the bottom of the pan and pour excess back into the bowl of batter.
- Cook until golden brown on first side. Flip the crepe and brown on second side.
- Fold the crepe in half and add fillings. Roll into a cone shape.
- This crepe has spinach salad greens, grilled chicken, strawberries, tomatoes and raspberry jam.
Basic Crepes
1 cup milk
½ cup lukewarm water
4 large eggs
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
½ stick melted butter
Vegetable oil for pan
Pour milk, water and eggs into a blender. Pulse a few times. Add flour and salt. Cover and pulse a few times again. Add melted butter and blend for one to two minutes. Scrape down the sides if necessary and pulse.
Rest batter in the refrigerator for about 2 hours.
Brush the cooking surface with oil. Follow the directions above. If you are using a large saute pan, pour a circle of batter into the middle of the pan and swirl the batter around to coat the bottom of the pan and pour excess back into the bowl of batter. Proceed as above.
Use your favorite fajita or chile marinated steak recipes to fill the crepes or try some of these fantastic recipe ideas-
Fillet Asada with Greens and Cranberry, Pecan Salad- Everday Southwest in Southwest Flair Magazine
Succulent Achiote- Orange Carnitas Recipe- Black Girl Chef's Whites
Pulled Chicken Tacos- Guilty Kitchen
- posted by Sandy
Donna
I have never thought of crepes like this! Large and crispy - wow!
The only crepes I have ever made is Julia Child's recipe. They are fabulous and you can store them in your fridge in a big pile for several weeks and then just peel them off as you need them.
Must try these!
Kathleen
I live near Irvine. Can't wait to try this place!!!
sandy
Kathleen, Give it a try and let me know how you like it. Don't forget the dessert crepes!
Hilliary
This recipe turned out almost exactly like the shop's! I added approximately 2 tablespoons of white sugar and some cocoa powder to this recipe and got an even better taste for desert crepes. Leave out the cocoa powder, but keep the sugar and it's still not that sweet. The pouring technique advice for a skillet was extremely helpful for creating the perfect texture and thickness. Thanks for posting this!
Donna
Hilliary - We are so happy that you had success! And thanks for coming back and commenting!
sandy
Hilliary, I'm glad you liked the post! Have you tried it with savory ingredients? Wrap a tasty salad inside of one for a great take on a sandwich.
Hilliary
Hi Sandy,
My son and I are sick today, so I was thinking of something both nutritious, balanced, and EASY to make us for lunch. A wrapped salad sounds perfect. I use the recipe every time we do crepes and I'm glad I decided to read through the comments for other suggestions.
Sandy
Hi Hillary, Hope all is well at your house and your son is feeling great. We had a round of colds at our house, too.
I'm so glad you like the crepe recipe! It's a good one, I use it for just about everything, too.
David
Hi, this looks really good. Just a question about the mix recipe and the amount: Is the recipe the same one used at the crepe place you visited, and how much to pour to make one crepe (say the same size as in the picture)?
Thanks.
Corinne
I love savory crepes and this recipe is perfect because it's so easy to adapt to anything. I experimented with it first with just some sauteed vegetables and cheese to get a sense of the flavor. It really is versatile!
Denay DeGuzman
I'm a huge lover of crepes, and this original recipe was fabulous! It produced large, crispy crepes that were much like a pizza. My husband devoured his portion in what seemed like seconds. My extended family is getting together for a big brunch next month and I'm going to surprise them with this awesome savory treat!
Sandra Shaffer
What a treat! I tend to go for the sweet crepes, but my husband prefers savory. This hit the spot for both of us! This recipe is a keeper!
Alyssa
The step by step instructions were so helpful! These turned out perfect!
Swathi
I agree with you that is one crispy crepe with savory filling. I am going to give this one a try for sure.
Kathy Hester
I've never thought of having a southwestern crepe, but I'm making this next week. You have my mouth watering!
Robin Donovan
I loved these crepes. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Shelby
I normally make my crepes super soft so crispy is a nice switch up!