Buckwheat Crepes With Salmon And Homemade Crème Fraîche Recipe

There's nothing quite like freshly cooked crepes wrapped around sweet or savory fillings. Delicate yet sturdy, crepes are the ultimate vehicle for folding, rolling, or stacking with your favorite ingredients. Crepes, though related to American pancakes, are different because they originated in the Brittany region of France in the 13th century and were first made with buckwheat flour, which was a standard crop in the area. Buckwheat's nutty and slightly earthy flavor lends itself to a variety of fillings and preparations. 

Recipe developer Julie Kinnaird shares with us her recipe for buckwheat crepes with salmon and homemade crème fraîche, inspired by her own travels through France. Silky cold-smoked salmon and creamy crème fraîche contrast with the bite of red onion, piquant capers, and fresh herbs and greens. Kinnaird pairs these savory crepes with a herbaceous cucumber dressing that rounds out the dish for perfect brunch fare.

Making crème fraîche at home is easy and economical to do — just be sure to plan a day in advance. All you need is heavy cream and a touch of buttermilk, and in 12-24 hours you'll have a thick and rich spread that has a bit less acidity than American sour cream, but can be a viable substitute. Once your crème fraîche has thickened upon sitting out at room temperature, it can be refrigerated for up to 10 days and used as you wish!

The first step to this recipe is making the homemade crème fraîche by adding buttermilk to heavy cream, then allowing to sit in a jar or other container at room temperature for 12-24 hours. The crème fraîche along with cold smoked salmon, red onion, capers, and fresh dill, chives, and arugula become the filling for the buckwheat crepes. To make the crepes themselves, you will need both buckwheat and all-purpose flour, whole milk, large eggs, melted unsalted butter, and a bit of kosher salt. To accompany the filled crepes, you will make a dressing of English or hothouse cucumbers, fresh Italian parsley, more capers, fresh lemon juice, white vinegar, extra-virgin olive oil, and a bit more salt.

Pour the cream into a glass jar and add the buttermilk.

Seal with a lid and shake well. Set aside at room temperature for 24 hours until thickened.

In a large bowl whisk together the milk and eggs until smooth.

Add the flours and ½ teaspoon salt, mixing well.

Pour in the melted butter and whisk until smooth.

Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.

In another bowl, combine the cucumber, parsley, 1 tablespoon capers, lemon juice, vinegar, remaining ½ teaspoon salt, and finish with the olive oil. Mix until well combined and set aside.

Heat a crepe pan or other non-stick pan over medium heat and add a teaspoon of butter.

Once the pan is hot, ladle in ⅓ cup crepe batter and tilt the pan to create a large, even circle.

Once the edges start to brown, flip the crepe over and cook on the other side (about 5 minutes total).

Transfer the crepe to a platter and continue to cook the crepes until all of the batter is gone, placing pieces of waxed paper in between. Add pieces of the butter to the pan as needed.

To fill the crepes, start by placing a crepe on a cutting board or other surface.

Spread on a thin layer of the crème fraîche.

Top with some of the salmon down the center of the crepe.

Add a thin layer of red onion and a few capers.

Sprinkle on some of the chives and dill fronds.

Top with arugula leaves.

Starting from the bottom, carefully roll the crepe around its contents.

Place the crepes on a serving platter and serve with the cucumber dressing.

There are already a couple of do-ahead steps built into this recipe, such as making the crème fraîche and mixing the crepe batter, but a few other items can be prepped ahead for easy assembly before serving. After the crème fraîche is nice and thick from its fermentation time at room temperature, it can be refrigerated for up to 10 days. The crepe batter can also be made up to 3 days in advance, while the crepes themselves can be cooked, stacked between sheets of waxed paper, wrapped well, and frozen until ready to use. 

Preparing your cucumber dressing a day in advance will actually improve the depth of flavors — just bring it to room temperature before serving. The onion, herbs, and greens can also be cut and stored in the refrigerator a day ahead. When it comes time to assemble your crepes, you can have all the components ready to go. The filled crepes will also keep well for about a day in the refrigerator.

Buckwheat (actually a seed) is often referred to as a "superfood" by many health and nutrition experts. Buckwheat is good for heart health, digestive health, and regulating blood sugar, and is packed with vitamins and minerals, such as potassium, calcium, iron, copper, manganese, and phosphorous. Buckwheat is also high in fiber, meaning it benefits digestive health. Buckwheat also contains 13 grams of protein in a 3.5-ounce portion in its raw form. Buckwheat flour is a handy form of the seed that can be used in a variety of baked goods, pancakes, noodles like soba, and other doughs.

Buckwheat has long been celebrated as a hardy crop that is naturally pest-resistant, survives in poor soils, and can withstand challenging bouts of climate extremes. This gives buckwheat a significant upper hand over wheat in terms of farming and nutrition. And unlike wheat, buckwheat is also naturally gluten-free, making it a friendly alternative for baking.