Every so often I have a hankering for a fried egg, over easy with a runny yolk. That's why this recipe, which I spotted in a Serious Eats newsletter awhile back, caught my eye. Not only did it look delicious, it was also a cheap supper. (I can't be the only one recovering financially from Christmas.)
I haven't made crepes often, but these were easy. They only thing I'd change to the recipe is to add a pinch of sugar to enhance the flavor of the corn. I might also like some diced ham added to the mushrooms if there was any in the fridge.
My version of the recipe is below. I'd encourage you to read the original Serious Eats post, though. It has a good story, plus the photos are better than mine. When you're about to eat a perfectly cooked fried egg, there's time for just one shot before you dig in.
Cornmeal Crepe, Mushroom Ragout and Fried Egg
Be sure to plan a bit ahead -- the batter needs to rest for 30 minutes. The batter makes 10 to 12 crêpes, which is more than you'll need, but you'll have some wiggle room if the first few don't turn out right. Extra crepes can be refrigerated for a couple days or frozen for about three months. Thaw in the fridge overnight before using.
Cornmeal Crepes:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup yellow cornmeal
(A pinch of sugar, if desired)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk (I used 1% because that's what was in the fridge, and it worked fine.)
3 large eggs
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Vegetable oil or melted butter for greasing skillet
1. Blend flour, cornmeal, sugar (if using), salt, milk, eggs, and melted butter in blender until smooth. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. (You can make the mushroom ragout while you're waiting.) Consistency should be that of whipping cream; if needed, thin with a little bit of cold water.2. Lightly brush a 10-inch skillet with melted butter or vegetable oil, and heat over medium heat until hot but not smoking.
3. Hold the skillet off the heat and ladle about 1/3 cup of batter onto the pan, swirling to coat. Return skillet to flame and cook until crêpe is set and turning golden around the edges. Loosen sides with rubber spatula and carefully flip over. (I'm not a good flipper so I usually did that with my fingers - ouch! You also can slide the crepe onto a dinner plate, invert the pan over the plate, then flip so that the pan is on the bottom and the plate is on the top.) Cook until underside is set, about 20 seconds more.
4. Repeat with remaining batter, re-oiling the skillet between crepes. Stack crêpes on plate as they are finished.
Mushroom Ragout:
Fills 4-6 crêpes
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon butter
2 shallots, minced
1 1/2 pounds mixed mushrooms, trimmed if necessary, thinly sliced (I used inexpensive button and Baby Bella mushrooms, but the recipe would be even better with more exotic mushrooms.)
Salt
1 tablespoon tomato paste (I keep a tube from Williams Sonoma in the fridge for this kind of thing.)
1/3 cup sour cream
Freshly ground black pepper
1. In a large, heavy skillet, heat the oil and butter over medium-high heat until butter is melted, and pan is hot but not smoking. Sweat the shallots in oil and butter until translucent. Add mushrooms and large pinch of salt, and sauté, stirring occasionally, until the liquid that the mushrooms give off has evaporated, 6-8 minutes.
2. Add tomato paste and stir to coat mushrooms. Cook for 1 minute.
3. Reduce heat to low, add sour cream and cook until warmed through. Salt and pepper to taste.
Putting it all together:
Allow two crêpes per person, and one egg per crêpe.
1. Fry the eggs sunny-side up or over-easy. (I used just a smidge of butter in the pan, and salt & peppered the eggs.)
2. While the eggs are frying, spoon desired quantity of warm mushroom ragoût just below the center of each crepe, leaving a one-inch border on each side.3. Top with fried egg. Fold in sides of crêpe over filling, then fold top and bottom to enclose filling. (This wasn't my strength ... but don't worry, even if they aren't perfect, they will still taste good!)
4. Serve crêpe fold sides down. Top with sour cream or chopped fresh herbs, if you want to be fancy about it -- I left them plain for our weeknight meal.