Crêpe Complète (ham and Cheese Buckwheat Pancake)
Whilst I do love sweet pancake toppings... I have to admit I am more of a savoury girl at heart. My favourite fillings are of course cheese and ham, and I can definitely see why the French refer to the filling combination in this recipe as a Crêpe Complète, the complete crêpe, because it contains my fave cheese and ham, topped with a runny fried egg.
The pancake batter here uses buckwheat flour, which is a lovely, brown-tinged, naturally gluten free flour. It has a very savoury, almost nutty flavour, which I love with this filling combination. Technically, using this flour means this is in fact not a crêpe or indeed a pancake, but instead a galette.
Feel free to change it up and add whatever fillings you like - wilted spinach and a blob of crème fraiche works really well, caramelised onions and goats cheese, or even seafood. Let me know if you make it!
This is what I mean by 'swirl the egg white around the pancake to speed up the cooking'
Crêpe Complète (ham and Cheese Buckwheat Pancake)
Recipe details
Ingredients
- 75 g (5/8 cup) buckwheat flour
- 60 mL (1/4 cup) semi skimmed milk
- 120 mL (1/2 cup) water
- 5 eggs (1 for the batter, 4 to serve)
- Pinch of salt
- 4 slices ham
- 100 g grated gruyere cheese
- Chopped chives, to serve (optional)
Instructions
- Whisk together the flour, milk, water, 1 egg and a pinch of salt until there are no lumps. Let the batter sit for 30 minutes before using.
- Take your largest, non-stick frying pan and warm through on a moderate heat. Add some butter or spray with oil to lightly grease. Add 1/4 of the batter mixture, and swirl around the pan to get a circle shape. Cook for a minute or two, until the underside is golden. Flip the pancake and start cooking the other side.
- As soon as your turn the pancake, crack an egg into the centre. You will see the white starting to cook. Swirl the thicker parts of the white around a little, to thin it out and allow it to cook faster. After around a minute, when the egg white has mostly turned from translucent to white and opaque, scatter the grated cheese and torn pieces of the ham around the egg.
- Once you are happy with the cooking of the egg, and the underside of the pancake is golden, fold over the round edges in four sections to make a square parcel. The sides should stick down to the melted cheese and the egg white.
- Serve up with a scattering of chives (if using), or a crisp green salad. Bon appetit!
Tips
- As the cooking of each crepe is quite quick, it is helpful to have all the ingredients laid out in front of you before you begin.
- If you are making these for a large crowd, pre-cook the galettes in advance, and warm through each one, cooking the egg as you do.
Comments
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