Savoury crêpes

A post in another thread prompts this one. I make crêpes from time to time. I only make sweet ones, with strawberry or mixed-fruit filling, powdered sugar, and whipped cream. The SO loves 'em. For me, I’ll eat those or else just have powdered sugar and lemon juice.

My first exposure to crêpes was when I was in the single-digits, at a place called The Crêpe Shop (or something like that) in Pacific Beach (San Diego). Those were crab crêpes, and I always got crab crêpes when my sister took me to the beach. (Well, when we were having crêpes. More often it was taquitos from a street vendor.) The thing is, I prefer savoury crêpes to sweet ones – but I’ve never made any.

I want to make crab crêpes, but I’d also like to hear other recipes.

I like to fill them with duxelles, you can optionally top with a bechamel sauce.

Sounds perfect!

No recipe, but I’ve always liked spinach & mushroom crepes.

Stilton and mushroom is jolly good too.

Crepes with what is essentially chicken à la king are nice.

(Thank you for including the circonflexe and for pronouncing it “crepps”.)

Circonflexe! I just learned a new word.

Cubed ham, chopped parsley and cooked mushrooms in a very thick cream sauce made with egg yolk and a pinch of tarragon. Top with your favorite cheese and broil.

Ratatouille crepes are good. I don’t have recipe for crab ones.

Mmm. You just took me back to a high point of my week in London. A crazy-ass acquaintance (a slightly famous name in British TV and a true English eccentric) dragged us way in the hell up one of the hills to a very non-touristy part of town, to this microscopic crepes stand - so small that the two women inside had to move in concert so as not to hit each other. Absolutely the best egg, sausage, cheese and I dunno what crepe I’ve ever had.

For inspiration, you can check out the menu at this restaurant that I haven’t been to in way too long…

Cafe Le Bonne Crepe

#36, Seafood, shrimp, scallops, fish and mushrooms and bechamel sauce’, looks good. It sounds like the crab crêpes from my childhood.

I’m also leaning toward mushroom crêpes.

I used to make a tuna fish crepe with bechamel sauce that was very good.

We have crepes once a year, at La Croissanterie in Marigot, St Martin.

I always get minced salmon served with fresh sour cream. She always gets mushroom. Comment tale vous?

I learned from my mom that whatever leftovers you have that can hold up to a cream sauce can be served in a crepe.

I don’t think I’ve ever done anything with beef and crepes, but definitely chicken, ham, turkey, or fish with whatever vegetables are on hand.

Sometimes I skip the sauce and just melt some cheese on the second side before filling and folding it so, ham and brie, bacon and cheddar.

Small potato, peeled, boiled, diced, and sauteed in butter and garlic.

Small onion and dill pickle, diced and sauteed with the potato.

Add chopped mushrooms and a tub of sour cream. Warm over low heat until bubbly.

Ladle over crepes with salt, pepper, and freshly chopped parsley.

When I lived in Budapest, there were a number of 24-hour creperies around for the after-drinking crowd. They offered a wide range of both sweet and savory crepes. My favorites were: mushroom & cheese, dill & curd cheese (something like a feta/ricotta type cheese), and ham and cheese. They also offered layered savory crepes, much in the style of lasagna. A typical layering might be a layer of ham, a layer of mushrooms, a layer of spinach, and a layer of cheese & sour cream. Mix 'em up however you want. Like I said, it’s basically a lasagna with crepes instead of noodles.

My absolute favorite, though was a dish called Hortobágyi palacsinta/crepes. They were essentially crepes stuffed with stew/paprikash/goulash meat, and further baked with a sour cream paprikash sauce over them. Here’s a reasonable recipe.

And salmon makes a great filler for savory crepes, too. You can do it with a dill-cream sauce or with cream cheese, or with a lemony kind of thing. Just whatever you’d normally combine salmon with.