Dear Mom and Sister,
I created this with you in mind, as you are my most faithful readers. I ate it in solitude this morning, contemplating how much better things seem to taste when consumed in your fine company. As Billie Holliday croons “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love, Baby”, I laugh to myself thinking about Born Yesterday and the uniqueness of family humour. Le sigh. The following recipe is doctored to perfection based on the mistakes I made before drinking coffee.
The the rest of you dumb chumps and crazy broads, here’s a delightful (emphasis on the light) breakfast that will have you holding your pinkies high and clinking your diamond-studded champagne flutes over your health n’ wealth, because it is damn classy.
White Peach, Apricot and Physalis Ragout and Crepes
Ragout
100g physalis, “shelled” and quartered
1 ripe white peach, sliced
1 apricot, cubed
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tbsp pure vanilla
1/2 cup orange juice
1 tbsp white wine or orange liqueur
1 tbsp butter
Crepes
2/3 cup almond milk
3/4 cup sifted unbleached all-purpose flour
2 eggs (or egg substitute – click here)
pinch of salt
oil for skillet
plain Greek yogurt, optional
Combine fruit in a bowl, sprinkle sugar atop and let stand. In a separate small bowl, combine vanilla, OJ and wine/liqueur. In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add fruit and cook for approximately three minutes or until bubbling. Pour in the liquid mixture and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.
Turn the heat down low and let simmer for ten to fifteen minutes, or until a thicker consistency (don’t wait for it to become jammy, because it won’t, you jammie dodger, you). Remove from heat, or burn your ragout.
Preheat the oven to 170 F (warming temperature) and crank Louis Armstrong, one of my many deceased celebrity crushes.
Whisk flour and milk together. Beat in the eggs and add salt. You will note I beat the eggs and flour together first – DO NOT do this unless you are asking for Lumpelstiltskin to demonize your batter.
Heat the oil in your skillet or frying pan on medium heat. Ladle a, um, ladle-full’s worth of batter in the pan and swirl it around the entire pan, using your wrist? And your brain? Are these instructions making sense?
When cooked through on one side, flip over delicately yet swiftly using a spatula, unless you have finesse and pizazz to flip it using only the pan. When the edges of the crepe are crisp and it is golden brown, place on a dinner plate and into the warmed oven. Repeat until the batter is gone, stacking the crepes in the oven to keep warm.
To plate, I tried two ways. Firstly, I spread Greek yogurt onto the crepe, spooned the ragout and folded it like so:
The alternative, which I prefer, is to fold the crepe into a wedge and spoon the ragout on top. Scoop the yogurt onto the side and garnish with mint leaves or praline (of which I had neither).
The ragout will also make a great topping for cheesecake, methinks.
Enjoy the summer to your greatest capacity! Until next time, eat deliciously and promise me you’ll get to the beach at least once before autumn sneaks up.
The She Chef 