Thursday, February 14, 2013

Crepes with Nutella--Five Thousand Crepes of Love.



There are many ways of saying "I love you". For the past seven years I have been saying mine with crepes.

Ever since my older son Max, who has developmental problems, tried crepes at my friend's house, he fell in love with them. At that time he still had some oral motor problems and various food aversions, so I could not be happier that there was a new kind of food that he accepted and enjoyed.

He loves crepes so much that no evening passes by without a crepe and Nutella snack.

Every single day for the past seven years I have been making him crepes for supper. I fry them once a week in a big batch and freeze for the rest of the week. He usually has two or three of them, smothered with Nutella and rolled up, accompanied by a glass of milk. I counted today that for seven years, 365 days each year and a minimum of two crepes a day, I made, at least five thousand crepes.

It is just a tiny gesture of love to reward someone who has the sweetest and most gentle soul, but constantly faces everyday challenges and struggles so hard to reach his potential.

I believe that this culinary experience makes me a true crepe specialist at par with those French magicians who sell crepes on the streets of Paris. But my crepes are a bit different. This recipe is unusual. Its secret is in the beer that makes the crepes very thin and soft. They roll up easily and have a delicate, neither sweet nor savory, taste. Therefore you can stuff them with anything. The sweet versions are the most popular in my home. For Max it has to be the Nutella filling, for Philip Philadelphia Cheese and honey. Seasonal fruits and whipped cream are another delicious option. But also any savory stuffing can work with them, but this is for a separate post.

And tonight, like every night, it is a night of crepes with Nutella.


Beer Crepes
(Makes about sixteen crepes)

Ingredients:
1 bottle light beer,
2 cups milk,
2 and 1/2 cup flour,
2 eggs,
1 tbsp sugar,
1 tsp salt,
2 tbsp vegetable oil for frying.

Preparation:
1. Pour milk and beer into a large bowl. Add two eggs and beat with whisker.
2. Add flour. Beat until it makes smooth batter without any lumps. The batter should have consistency of heavy whipping cream. At the end, season with salt and sugar and let the batter rest for half an hour.
3. Preheat a 9-inch frying pan. Using a cooking brush coat the pan with oil. When the pan is hot pour in about 1/3 cup of the crepe batter.


4. Move the pan until batters spreads and covers the whole pan. Fry until the edges of the crepes are brownish. Flip over with a large silicon spatula and fry again on the other side.


5. Once the first crepe is ready, turn the heat to medium high and fry the rest of them, coating the pan with oil before each crepe.
6. Let the crepes cool.
You can smother them with jam, cheese and honey, or anything you want.


But there is really nothing better than to serve them with Nutella.