From Russia With Valentines Day Love!
Valentines Day is near, so it is a good time to post a few more elegant recipes that appeal to the lady folk! Crepes are a favorite of ladies worldwide. Anything French can be deemed as being romantic. Crepes are also popular in Russia. In the Ukraine, crepes are called blinchiki. A few years ago, I posted a nice sweet Ukraine blinchiki recipe that was made like a blintz. Today's food blog Russian crepe entree is a savory breakfast crepe recipe that features Russian smoked sturgeon and quail eggs. Fenugreek is a popular spice in parts of southern Russia, where middle eastern spices from neighboring countries comes into play. Fenugreek has a very nice maple kind of flavor that is not sweet. Creme fraiche and sour cream are both popular in Russia. The fenugreek flavored creme fraiche tastes great with the crepes, smoked sturgeon and quail eggs. Quail eggs can be found in asian markets. Fresh quail eggs are stocked and aged "thousand year quail eggs" are also available. Be sure to ask which type of quail egg it is, before purchasing, or you may be in for a surprise! Canned hard boiled quail eggs are also stocked at asian markets. I like the canned quail eggs that are packed in brine. At restaurants, 5 gallon buckets of pre-cooked hard boiled chicken eggs are commonly found on the inventory list. Fine dining restaurants often use canned hard boiled quail eggs for banquet style menu items and appetizers. The quality and flavor of canned hard boiled quail eggs from Thailand and other asian countries is very good. Canned hard boiled quail eggs are a nice convenience and they were used in this recipe.
Crepe Batter Recipe: This recipe makes about 6 to 8 small 7" crepes! Place 2 eggs into a mixing bowl. Add 1/2 cup of milk. Add 2 tablespoons of cream Add 1 pinch of sea salt. Add 1 small pinch of nutmeg. Add 1/2 tablespoon of sugar. Add 4 or 5 drops of lemon juice. Add 1/2 tablespoon of melted unsalted butter. Add a little bit of flour at a time, while whisking, till a very thin batter is formed. The batter should barely coat the back of a spoon. Crepe batter should be much thinner than pancake batter. Crepes: Heat a non-stick pan over medium/medium low heat. Use a pastry brush to lightly coat the pan with melted unsalted butter. Pour just enough crepe batter into the hot pan to form a crepe that is 1/16" to 3/32" thick. (The crepe should be less than 1/8" thick! About 1 to 2 ounces of batter is good, depending on the size of the pan.) Tilt the pan, so the batter covers the pan with a very thin layer of batter. Tilt the pan to get the batter to form a round shape and to cover any holes in the crepe.) When the batter turns solid and is cooked firm, flip the crepe gently with a rubber spatula to color the other side with light golden colored highlights. Slide the crepe from the pan onto a counter top to cool. Repeat these steps to make as many crepes as you wish. (You can multiply the recipe to make a whole stack. Crepes do freeze very well. For home, it is best to freeze 2 to 4 portions per package.)
Fenugreek creme Fraiche: Heat a sauce pot over low heat. Add 1/4 cup of milk. Add 1/2 teaspoon of fenugreek. Add 1 tablespoon of small diced onion. Whisk, till the fenugreek combines with the milk. Add 1/2 cup of cream. Add 3 ounces of sour cream. Add sea salt and white pepper. Add 1/2 teaspoon of sugar. Gently simmer and reduce, till the creme fraiche becomes a medium thin sauce consistency. Keep the sauce warm over very low heat. Add milk, if the sauce becomes too thick.
Crepes with Smoked Sturgeon, Quail Eggs and Fenugreek Creme Fraiche: Canned hard boiled quail eggs are nice for this recipe. Warm 2 hard boiled quail eggs in water, in a sauce pot over medium low heat. Heat a saute pan over very low heat. Add 3 pats of unsalted butter. Add 5 slices of trimmed Russian cold smoked sturgeon. The slices should be 3/16" thick. Just barely warm the sturgeon, so it becomes aromatic. Remove the pan from the heat. Warm 5 crepes on a dry non-stick saute pan over low heat. Fold the crepes in half. Overlap the the folded crepes across a plate. Spoon a generous amount of the fenugreek creme fraiche over the crepes. Place the warm smoked sturgeon slices on the sauce across the crepes. Spoon some of the warm butter from the pan on the plate around the crepes. Cut the 2 warm quail eggs in half. Place the quail egg halves between the smoked sturgeon slices. Place Italian parsley leaves between each quail egg. Sprinkle some thin sliced green onion top over the entree. Sprinkle some diced tomato over the entree.
This is a pretty looking and nice tasting Russian style savory crepe entree! Cold smoked Russian sturgeon is available at eastern european markets. Yum! ... Shawna
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