With Red Currants and Ricotta Cream
Our orange clock marked 11 pm and at that point, we should really have walked up the stairs, destination: bed. We had not slept too well over the past few nights. We had also worked longer than we should really have, unable then to healthily empty our brains before deciding to finally drag ourselves to sleep. But then, P. told me that he was not going to fall asleep at all.
“Et pourquoi donc ?” (why?) I still asked somewhat surprised.
“J’ai faim (I am hungry),” he replied. “J’ai envie d’une crêpe” (I feel like having a crêpe).
I could see this coming. Crêpes are our kind of middle-of-the-night snack.
“Ben, tu sais comment faire, non ?” (You know what to do, don’t you?) I told him casually, smiling at the same time.
“But I want YOU to make them.”
What was this all about? And more particularly, why did I give in and why was I the one walking into the kitchen in order to prepare the batter, let it rest and then make crêpes for him, and me nonetheless. I do not know. For sure at this hour in the early night, the fun of flipping the crêpes high in the air would be out of the question. Way too risky! Beside, I was too tired to handle any possibility of a crêpe falling where it should not have, and deal with it.
But it was really worth the wait. The crêpes were in fact delicious. And different. I decided to make good use of two new flours together, taking me away from the traditional farine blanche (white flour) typically used in sweet version of crêpes . Quinoa flour was one, and Chestnut flour was the other. Both are gluten-free, and full of nutrients that most basic all-purpose flours lack — quinoa flour is high in protein, calcium and iron. Their taste is also definitely stronger and more pronounced. Chestnut flour is sweet and nutty whereas quinoa flour is closer to the more commonly used buckwheat flour. Together they work great with chestnut as a flavorful addition to any sweet crêpe batter. With it, I wanted to make a simple yet creamy and mild filling, and used ricotta cheese to which I added a pinch of sugar. I had fresh red currants and strawberries picked from the market that we needed to use quickly — we know how short a life fresh berries have. So with all of these ingredients handy, I prepared Chestnut, Quinoa Crêpes with Red Currants and Ricotta Cream for us. Of course, the pictures you see do not come from our spontaneous eating episode that night (and instead of the hour wait for the batter to rest, I cut it to a half hour then). But the following day, I started again, and none of us complained. We liked it even better. You see, we had to proof the recipe, to make sure we still liked it and had not dreamed it.
“Je suis repu !”, P. exclaimed after he had swallowed down two crêpes. His face glowed with a large smile. For someone who typically eats his food rather slowly, it always amazes me to see how quickly crêpes disappear when he is around.
I had to smile too. But for another reason.
I am always amused to hear him use this off-the-beaten-path expression, that very same one that my mum enjoyed so much teaching him a few years ago, when he kept asking what this, or that word meant on our visits to my parents’. Not commonly used I must confess — and why he remembered, I do not know! — but since he likes to try de la caser (to stick it into a sentence) every time, it makes me smile.
One certain fact: that very evening, when he and I finally dragged ourselves to bed, we both fell asleep like babies, our tummies happy and repus. And, in case you had not guessed and were still wondering, the French adjective repu means to have eaten well/to be content, also known to mean “to be full“. But this is one expression that I still cannot use.
You need:
Batter for about ten crêpes :
- 1/2 cup chestnut flour
- 1/2 cup quinoa flour
- 2 large eggs
- 1 pinch of salt
- 1 cup milk
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 Tbsp melted butter
Filling for 4 crêpes:
- 1 cup fresh ricotta cheese
- 1 Tbsp + 1 tsp cane sugar
- 1 vanilla bean, seeds removed
- 5 1/4 oz red currants
Steps:
- To make the crêpe batter, place all ingredients in a blender and mix until smooth in texture. Pour in a bowl, cover, and let rest for 1 hour at room temperature.
- Cook your crêpes using a special crêpe pan or a non-stick frying pan, a few min on each side.
- Mix together 3.5 oz red currants and add the sugar and vanilla. Add the ricotta cheese and mix well.
- Place a crêpe on a plate and spread some ricotta cream on it. Add fresh red currants. Fold your crêpe into a square (folded pieces under). Serve with a fresh sweet berry salad, red currant and small juicy strawberries.
- Sprinkle with confectioner’s sugar and serve.
Ingrédients :
Pâte pour une dizaine de crêpes :
- 50 g de farine de châtaigne
- 50 g de farine de quinoa
- 2 gros oeufs
- 1 pincée de sel
- 250 ml de lait
- 60 ml d’eau
- 1 càs de beurre fondu
Garniture pour 4 crêpes :
- 200 g de ricotta fraîche
- 1 càs + 1 càc de sucre de canne blond
- 1 gousse de vanille grattée
- 150 g de groseilles fraîches
Étapes :
- Mélangez tous les ingrédients dans un blender pour obtenir une pâte lisse sans grumeaux. Couvrez et laissez reposer pendant 1 heure à température ambiante.
- Cuisez vos crêpes dans une poêle à crêpe ou une poêle anti-adhésive, quelques minutes de chaque côté.
- Mixez 100 g des groseilles et ajoutez le sucre et la vanille. Ajoutez la ricotta fraîche et mélangez bien.
- Posez une crêpe sur une assiette et étalez de la crème à la ricotta dessus. Ajoutez des groseilles entières. Pliez-la en carré, côtés repliés en-dessous. Servez avec une salade de fruits rouges frais sucrée, groseilles et fraises gariguettes.
- Saupoudrez de sucre glace et servez.
Technorati Tags: Food Styling, La Tartine Gourmande, Food Photography, gluten free crêpe, gluten free, quinoa flour, chestnut flour, red currant, farine de châtaigne, farine de quinoa
Superbe recette ! Moi aussi j’ai souvent des envies comme celles-ci 🙂
I’m glad you explained that you didn’t take those photos beautifully lit photos in the middle of the night Bea!
p.s I’ll have to check out chestnut flour, I’ve never heard of it but it sounds healthy AND tasty
MMmmmh tu me tente énormément là!
how lucky he is, i mean, your P;-)
Je n’ai pas de farine de quinoa, mais je vais vite adapter tout ça! Ce petit goût de châtaigne me séduit, surtout avec mes groseilles fraîchement cueillies 😉
your crepes are beautiful, Bea – next time, I’ll fold mine this way, too!
i am always oohing and aahing when i see your photos. simply stunning.
crepes are wonderful. i never heard though of the two flours you use. will habe to look for them (if available anywhere?). sounds delicious.
Just can’t deal with the “Qs”…not for moi 🙂
Those crepes look absolutely delicious Bea! And what a great idea to use different flours. P is such a lucky man. In our household I’m the lucky one – S often makes me crepes for breakfast during the weekend. In fact, I think I have an idea what I might be having for breakfast tomorrow morning 🙂
Miam miam. Les photos sont trop belles. Je n’aurais pas pensé à y mettre de la ricotta. J’adore les groseilles!
I love crepe and your looks delicious! I never tried this versions with quinoa and chestnut… really interesting!
I love you photos… they are great!
Ciao
Those crepes look absolutely perfect!! The photos have my mouth watering.
miam miam, j’ai découvert ton site il n’y a pas longtemps mais c’est terrible, j’ai envie de faire toutes les recettes!!! à quand le livre??
I adore your plates. Who designed them?
beautiful photos as usual.
Where did you get those little red currants? I can’t seem to find it anywhere in the US and I’m dying to have them
Je suis ARCHI conquise!!! C’est pas possible qu’une pareil recette existe!!!!
C’est un pur bonheur!!merci beaucoup!
Mon mari est allergique au gluten alors ta recette me tente. Oui, je sais je suis mechante avec tous mes desserts mais je lui fait des petits trucs rien qu’a lui. J’utilise du buckwheat (sarasin je crois) quand je les fait. Malgre le nom, cette farine est sans gluten aussi. Je vais essayer ta recette pour un brunch dimanche.
it definately comforts me that you didtn spontaneously make those georgeous crepes and take the pics. Oh but im sure you could have anyway. you are unreal, i often wonder what you do for work.
and where can i find such flours? are they available in the US?
I am so excited to try these – I knew there had to be a good gluten-free crepe recipe out there!
Well those are two flours I have never baked with before…I will have to go out and get those.
you are so kind to P, he is very lucky 🙂 these crepes look wonderful.
I’ve been itching to try chestnut flour forever (though I can’t remember why at the moment, some kind of Italian torte maybe?). These look great, and love the story of the midnight snack!
I have lurked on your blog for several weeks now and have enjoyed every post. My schoolgirl French is getting a workout (thank you for the translations!), I love your beautiful, beautiful photos, and the food descriptions make me drool on my keyboard!
tres heureuse d’avoir decouvert votre site, j’utilise le quinoa assez souvent mais pas en crepe, quelle bonne idee, je vais l’essayer.
j’aimerais vous envoyer un petit mot, je suis egalement de Metz, habitant le Canada, mais votre email ne fonctionne pas.
Des farines de la pâte à la garniture, tout cela ressemble à un vrai rêve de gourmandise!
Bon 14 Juillet ma belle Bea!!
Vive La Bastille! Allons enfants de la patrie…! Happy Bastille Day!
I love the flours you used in your crepes! How unique!
So would it be correct to say “Je suis non repu !” as I pretty much haven’t eaten anything but a strawberry puree yogurt. Oh how I would love two of those crepes!
Yes I’m glad I don’t have to leave shaking my head wondering how you can take those kinds of photos at midnight! Thank you for that one. You are breathtaking as usual and I love it.
what a delightful combination of flours! You are a genius! I’m sure the currants went so well with everything.
Nice! I love those midnight hunger cravings. I have always wondered what chesnut flour tasted like. I always see it at the grocery although it’s so expensive and I didn’t know what to do with them. I was afriad I would stuff them up so I never bought it. But now you have given me some ideas!
Bea, what a wonderful idea to use those two flours together! You may know that Austrians love their crepes, even if the call them “palatschinken”, just as much as the French do. My kids’ early childhood diet must have been at least 20 percent crepes. 🙂
As far as the long resting time is concerned, having had to cook for hungry kids more often than not at the spur of the moment (living near school brought lots of their friends into the house), I learned to heat the milk just to the point were you can still comfortably stick a finger into it (still tiepid, not scalding). This way, the gluten relaxes faster and a ten minutes’ wait will do.
For a different nutritional composition, I have used soy milk lately without the kids noticing (I can discern a slight difference in taste, but I like it this way just as well as with cow’s milk).
Thanks for your always great recipe ideas! 🙂
P.S.:
I am trying to make apricot jam over the next days, the crop from the Wachau Danube valley is about ready – do you have any suggestions, per chance?
Oooh the marvellous world of crepes! I am yet to try making these wafer-thin beauties but one day I’ll work up the courage to try my hand at crepes..and then, after some practice, perhaps I’ll be able to try these 🙂
Merci Clea! Oui, souvent des envies comme celle-la !
Sophie, oh yes, no way I could have taken pictures then 😉 I hope you enjoy chestnut flour.
Lisanka, 😉
Leonine, he is, isn’t he?
Sha, ah des groseills fraichement cueillies, la chance.
Patricia, thank you.
Andreea, thanks so much for your sweet note. Hope you can find the flours, they are really a great addition to your pantry.
Jeff, you do not know what you are missing! 😉
Inne, ah lucky you indeed!
Mary, ravie que cela te plaise.
Orchidea, thank you for your visit and note.
Deborah, thank you!
Diane, ah merci beaucoup! J’y travaille, le livre 😉
Jennifer, Anthropologie!
Bertha, I got the currants from the vegetable market I go to! Check WholeFoods as well, they carry them.
Phanie, merci.
Helen, ah oui, alors il est comme mon beau-pere. J’imagine que tu dois lui preparer des trucs rien qu’a lui. En fait, il y a plein de recettes super bonnes et plus legeres. Et bonne fete a toi!
Pessy, yes you can find these flours in health stores, or WholeFoods.
Mallow, I am glad!
Peabody, I am sure you will have a blast trying plenty of things with them.
Kat, thank you.
Mercedes, yes chestnut flour is a real great addition. Love its flavor to dishes.
Zoomie, thank you very much. Happy to hear you refresh your French as well.
Nicole, merci! Vous avez recu mon email?
Mayacook, presque, oui 😉
Amy, thanks!
Tanna, you would say then “Je ne suis pas repu” 😉
Veron, thank you.
Jenjen, yes these cravings are irresistible. Cannot fall asleep if not listening to them.
Merisi, thanks for your great tips. I will definitely keep them in mind. It is true that the resting time can be a pain, when one is rushed 😉 I have a vanilla apricot recipe on my blog, if this interests you.
http://www.latartinegourmande.com/2006/08/25/shf-22-confitures-en-tous-genres-all-sorts-of-jams/
Ellie, I am sure you will do great with them!
You have outdone yourself! Not that you don’t constantly cook beautiful, creative food, but I’m really stunned by this one. I haven’t seen anything similar. I love quinoa, but would not have known it has such possibilities. I’ve just bookmarked your post to create me own crepes in the near future, I hope.
Julie
How exciting- another exquisite gluten free crepe recipe that I simply must try! I just made galettes with a mushroom filling that were quite lovely- come by and take a look! 🙂 Crepes make everything better, don’t they?
-Sea
Hey! I made these crepes. I used white flour and wheat flour instead.
I also used milk and buttermilk 🙂 and brown sugar.
Ive already made them twice.
Thank you once again. Your recipes never disappoint me.
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Delicious crêpes! I followed the recipe to the letter and loved it. However, today I didn’t have ricotta cheese and I didn’t have any red currants, so I used what I had in the fridge. Homemade applesauce (no sugar added). The sauce was great with the chestnut and quinoa flour flavours which are quite strong.
This is my first time on your website, but I’ll be sure to checkout other recipes. Merci beaucoup!
Hey, have been searching for answers to my questions of people who have tried this out first hand, and after looking aol, I came to this blog, it is lovely blog. Sad I took long to get to your blog. Bookmarked you already. Will come back pretty soon. Keep on writing people like me will follow you.
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