Description[]
A really original starter! The beet flavour does not come through, but you will have these beautifully cerise-coloured crepes. As a starter, one is enough per person, with edible garnish, as the filling is rich. The recipe offers lots of interpretations: fold into a parcel and tie with chives or spring onions, OR make it into a sweet pancake with cinnamon-Sugar. The recipe is extremely easy.
Ingredients[]
- 1 medium fresh beet, washed, topped, unpeeled
- 1 cup cake flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons butter, very soft
- 1 cup milk
Filling
- 7-8 ounces cream cheese
- 4 tablespoons very finely chopped spring onions
- 1 tablespoon very finely chopped fresh parsley
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup milk
6 servings Change size or US/metric Change to: servings US Metric 50 minutes 25 mins prep
Directions[]
- Cook the beet until tender, and cool. When peeled, the beet I used weighed about 3 oz or 80/90 grams.
- Cut up the beet and put in processor. Add the flour, salt, eggs and butter, and whizz.
- First add 1/2 cup milk, then more, until you have a thin pancake batter consistency.
- (The amount of milk might depend on how dry the beet was and the size of the eggs. If using smaller eggs you might need more than 1 cup milk).
- Whizz in blender until very smooth. You'll have just under 3 cups liquid.
- Pour into a jug or bowl, cover, and leave in fridge for at least 1 hour.
- FILLING: Scrape the cream cheese into a bowl, and add all the flavourings except the milk.
- Normally you will find the mixture too stiff to use as a filling, so add milk little by little, until you have a satisfactory consistency for a filling: easy to scoop out but not runny.
- Cover and refrigerate until needed.
- CREPES: Use a small crepe pan. The smallest I have is 6"/15 cm in diameter.
- Heat over medium heat. If not non-stick, keep butter handy and grease pan with butter.
- If the batter has thickened on standing, add a tiny bit more milk.
- Use 2 - 3 tablespoons batter per crepe: you want to aim for thin crepes. Swirl the batter to the edges of the pan so the crepes are of even thickness.
- Watch—and when the last raw swirl of batter on top starts to firm, turn crepe. Give it about 10 seconds on the other side, then slide out on to a plate.
- Stack them on this plate as you continue.
- You should get about 12 crepes if your pan diameter is 6"/15 cm.
- The fillimg is enough for six of these crepes. If you wish to use all the crepes, double the filling ingredients.
- Use the filling sparingly as it is rich. Fold crepe over. Decorate with a sprig of spring Onion and some parsley or salad leaves. A tiny bit of julienned carrots will also look good, or a few thinly sliced lemon rind strips.
- Serve warm or at room temperature.
- Leftover crepes can be covered and frozen.
- *In this case cream cheese really is a better bet than a low-fat cottage cheese, as it makes a big difference to the taste.
- If you wish to use a FLAVOURED cream cheese, that is fine. (I used the green onion flavoured one). One heaped tablespoon filling should be enough per crepe.