Buckwheat crepes with mushroom filling are crunchy, gluten-free, savoury thin crepes filled with the best seasonal mushrooms, smooth thyme-aromatized bechamel and baby spinach.
You can find all kinds of filling with these gluten-free savoury crepes. A popular one would be ham and cheese with an egg on top. For this one, I’ve used lovely seasonal mushrooms. To go with the mushrooms what better sidekick than thyme to aromatize the smooth bechamel it swims in? Plus, to give it a little crunch, a few baby spinach. Buckwheat Crepes with Mushroom Filling will become one of your favourite low-carb recipes!
Galette or Crepe?
Buckwheat Crepes are also known as Galettes Bretonnes in France. They are made of water and buckwheat flour which is gluten-free. Sometimes, an egg is added to make it crunchier. Really simple! Some other versions also mix in a bit of normal flour with milk, like a normal white crepe. A true Galette Bretonne should be crispy and crack when folded, filled with little holes and thin like paper.
In Brittany, they use a Billig to cook them on high heat and a long flat spatula to fold them up. On the bright side, there is no need to turn this crepe midway and risk a catastrophe. Since they are so thin, it wouldn’t work. Its colour is also a bit darker than the usual crepes. One important thing to keep in mind is that it doesn’t keep as well as white flour. Buckwheat tends to sour up in the pantry so keep it fresh!
Holy Buckwheat!
First of all, buckwheat is technically a no-wheat product. Let me explain; it’s actually the seeds of a flower that makes this flour, nothing to do with the usual wheat grass. It’s also a gluten-free flour, so for those of you who are sensitive to gluten, it’s a great alternative. This flour has many health benefits. I can’t cover the whole list here, but you can check it out here.
Mushroom season is on!
Living in Spain, I use those fantastic “Rovellons” mushrooms. I suggest you use your favourite ones, or even better, go grab some nice ones on your walk in the woods next weekend. Otherwise, you can always settle for the humble button mushrooms. I’m never satisfied with the texture of my mushrooms cooked in a pan—too saggy and soft. Since it’s quite a “busy” recipe already, I simply cook my mushrooms in the oven or even better, the air fryer. I leave them in the oven for about 20 minutes or 15 minutes in the air fryer and they end up perfect, evenly cooked and so much firmer.
So, let’s make savoury crêpes for dinner!
Buckwheat Crepes with Mushroom Filling
Equipment
- a crepe pan or a big, none stick, flat bottom pan
Ingredients
Crepe
- 300 g buckwheat flour
- 550 ml water (approx.)
- 1 egg
- salt
Mushroom Filling
- 350 g mushroom of your choice
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 garlic clove (pressed or chopped)
- thyme (to taste)
- salt and pepper
The bechamel
- 500 ml milk
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp flour (gluten free or chickpea flour)
- 20 g grated gruyere or parmesan (optional)
- nutmeg (optional)
- salt and pepper
Instructions
Crepe preparation
- Mix the salt into the flour.
- Add the egg in the center.
- Add water in the center slowly in a well and whisk from the center to the sides (to keep it smooth).
- Once all mixed, pass through a sieve to eliminate the unwanted lumps.
- Let set in the fridge for 1-2 hours.
The Mushrooms
- Wash your mushrooms good without soaking them.
- Cut the onion, add to the bowl of mushrooms.
- Add thyme, garlic, salt and olive oil.
- Cover a cooking tray with baking sheet, spread out the mushroom mix on it.
- Let cook at 200°C (400F°) for about 15-20 minutes, depending of the size of your mushrooms.
The Bechamel
- Add the butter to a saucepan to melt at medium-high heat.
- Add flour and cook for about 1 minute until it smells nutty.
- Add the cold milk, nutmeg, salt and pepper and whisk it until it thickens, add milk if too thick.
- When sauce is done, add the a bit of grated cheese of your choice. *Optional
- Mix it up with the mushrooms mix.
Making the crepes
- Bring your nonstick pan to medium-high heat and add a little fat of your choice (oil or butter).
- Mix your base again, add a little base to the pan in order to test your crepes, not too much (.1 mm thick)
- When adding the mix, make sure it barely covers the surface and it’s not too thick (you’ll see the holes forming right away if good consistency, always can add water if too thick).
- Add the baby spinach and the mushroom mix to the crepe while it cooks (no need to turn the crepe).
- Cook the crepe until light brown, fold it up, transfer to a plate.
