Egg Crepes with Mushrooms and Spinach

Spontaneously decided to whip up Egg Crepes with Spinach & Mushrooms this morning and they turned out wonderful, although I find them to be more akin to a thin omelette than a traditional crepe.  Both are veritable Sunday morning meals in this household. This recipe is valuable for those who have a sugar, carb or gluten restricted diet. The experimental twist placed on this recipe was to cook one crepe in a traditional steel crepe pan and a second in a non-stick crepe pan. 

Photo: Shawnie Kelley 

The results were as expected.  Both cooked perfectly, though the non-stick took a tad longer and didn't get the lovely brown sear the steel pan lends to crepes.  Bottom line-- they tasted the same. Fresh, light and healthy, yet totally fulfilling. Also, it paired beautifully with a spicy Bloody Mary. I intend to demonstrate this recipe in a armchair travel-meets-cooking class my sister and I are teaching this spring at the Upper Arlington Lifelong Learning program: click here to register for Simply French: Great Crepe Escape. 

One of my fellow bloggers, Shelby Kinnaird made this same recipe, but with her own take on ingredients. Click here to read up on her nutritional insight.  Hillary Davis, another blogger in the challenge, also commented about her morning with a most photogenic crepe. after two weeks, we inevitably have plenty of overlap with these delicious recipes, so check out Forays of a Finance Foodie's experience with the same recipe.

Feel free to use and comment on this extremely adaptable recipe from Salad as a Meal cookbook:

Egg Crepes with Mushrooms and Spinach

Accompanied by a fresh and lively green salad, these ultra-thin egg crepes make a perfect lunch. The egg crepe is quite simply a light envelope for whatever you want to put inside. Here I suggest mushrooms and spinach, but one could also dig into the pantry or refrigerator for all manner of herbs, vegetables, and cheese on hand.

2 SERVINGS

EQUIPMENT: A 10-INCH NONSTICK CREPE PAN; 2 WARMED PLATES.

2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

6 large mushrooms, cleaned, trimmed, and thinly sliced

Fine sea salt

8 ounces fresh spinach, stemmed and chopped

Freshly grated nutmeg

2 ultra-fresh large eggs, at room temperature

1 tablespoon minced fresh herbs (such as parsley, thyme, mint, and/or basil)

2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Coarse, freshly ground black pepper

Several handfuls of salad greens, tossed with dressing of choice

1. In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 teaspoon of the oil over moderate heat. Add the mushrooms, season lightly with salt, and cook just until soft, 3 to 4 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer the mushrooms to a sieve to drain. Add the spinach and 2 tablespoons of water to the skillet. Cover and cook until wilted, 1 to 2 minutes. Drain the spinach and season with salt and freshly grated nutmeg.

2. Crack each egg into a small bowl. Lightly beat each egg with a fork (not a whisk), just enough to combine the yolk and the white well without incorporating any air bubbles, which might make the crepe dry out. Add 1 tablespoon of water to each bowl.

3. Warm the crepe pan for a few seconds over high heat. Add 1/2 teaspoon of the remaining oil and swirl to evenly coat the pan. Add 1 beaten egg, tilting the pan from side to side to evenly coat the bottom. Cook just until the egg is evenly set but still slightly liquid on top, about 1 minute. Remove the pan from the heat. Quickly spoon half the spinach, then half the mushrooms, herbs, and cheese in the center of the egg crepe to form a strip parallel to the pan’s handle. With a fork, carefully fold the crepe over the filling from each side. Tip the pan up against the edge of a warmed plate so that the crepe rolls out browned side up. Season with salt and pepper. Repeat with the remaining ingredients to make a second filled crepe. Serve immediately, with a green salad alongside.

VARIATIONS: Wilted Swiss chard and feta; wilted lamb’s lettuce and ricotta; salsa, cubed avocado, and grated cheese; morels in truffle cream with chives.

WINE SUGGESTION: Our winemaker, Yves Gras, makes one of the “best dry whites of the Southern Rhône,” or so says wine expert Robert Parker. We agree, for his Sablet Blanc Le Fournas is crisp, chalky, elegant, and made for everyday drinking—perfect with this simple but sublime egg crepe.