Crepes are particular, demanding not just skill
and patience, but marksmanship. Crepe batter needs to be rested. It needs to be
swirled. The first one, inevitably, is sacrificed—and often many more. Crepes,
if you are a perfectionist, require a crepe pan. All of this diligence can
result in excellent crepes, but you can produce something remarkably crepe-like
without doing any of it.
Instead, do as Kenny Shopsin does at his legendary
diner on the Lower East Side of Manhattan: Dunk a big flour tortilla, one side
only, into egg and cream. Fry that side in butter while you pour the remaining
egg-cream batter on top and spread it around with your
hand. Flip, then remove and wrap around fruit, or creamy things, or ham
and cheese.
It will all feel a little wrong, until you taste
your lazy crepes. (Shopsin also invented banana guacamole and mac ’n ’ cheese
pancakes—wrong is his game.) As he wrote in Eat Me: The Food
and Philosophy of Kenny Shopsin, “Not one person has ever figured out
that I wasn’t making crepes in the traditional way (of course, I would tell
anyone who asked).”
Makes 1 crepe
1 extra-large egg
1 tablespoon heavy
cream
A few drops of pure vanilla
extract or rum (optional)
12-inch (30cm) flour tortilla
(the thinner the better)
About 1 tablespoon butter, for
the griddle
1 Whisk the egg with the cream in a wide bowl. At this
point, you could add a few drops of vanilla or a splash of rum if you want to
get fancy, but it really doesn’t need it. Lay the tortilla in the bowl, push it
down to the bottom with your hands, and rotate it so that the entire tortilla is
in the bottom of the bowl and the bottom side of the tortilla is throughly
covered with the egg mixture.
2 Heat 1 tablespoon of butter (or enough to cover your
griddle or a sauté pan large enough to fit the tortilla) over medium-high heat
until it begins to bubble. Lift the tortilla out of the liquid and place it, wet
side down, on the griddle or pan. Pour the remaining egg-cream mixture on the
tortilla and spread it over the tortilla with your fingers. As soon as the
underside of the crepe is light brown and mottled, which will be no more than 1
or 2 minutes, flip the crepe over, moving quickly so that the egg mixture
doesn’t slide off (Shopsin uses his fingers but you can use whatever tool works
best for you). Cook the crepe for about 1 more minute on the other side, until
it is mottled. Now your crepe is done. You just have to fill it and fold it. You
can fill it with anything you like. Shopsin’s has all kinds of filling for
crepes, sweet and savory, but they are also good with just sugar sprinkled on
top.
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