Savoury Crepes: Smoked Salmon & Ginger Mascarpone
Again a crepe recipe that has an emotional back story. Can we say emotional? Well the Creperie that we love and inspired this galette recipe, no longer exists anymore. We have such fond memories in this little cove so we do get a bit teary and stand by our statement.
Speaking of memories, we don’t think we ever steered away from ordering the smoked salmon and ginger mascarpone galette at Aubrey’s Creperie. Always the same savoury salmon galette to start and then a sweet one to finish.
If you’ve had a go at our sweet crepe with orange syrup and caramelised bananas then you’ll already have a crepe recipe in the bag. Tiny difference between the two crepe recipes is to add sugar into the crepe batter to reaffirm the sweetness for sweet options. For savoury crepes, we opt out of adding sugar.
What is the difference between a galette and a crepe?
There is little difference between the two. Galette is just referred to when it comes to savoury crepes or pancakes. Prepared exactly the same way up until it comes to the fillings!
Galettes are usually made with buckwheat flour. Although, we’ve tried and tested and our usual crepe recipe works just as well for savoury pancakes too!
How to make Galettes
Although ingredients are essentially like for like, we use buckwheat flour instead and the ratios are a tad different. You’ll need:
- 100g buckwheat flour
- 300ml milk
- 1 egg
- Pinch of salt
- 50g butter, melted
Again, the method is very very similar to what we state in the recipe below. Because, we’re so nice, we’ve given a quick guide below.
- Mix to combine the flour into a large bowl, add the salt.
- Break the egg into the bowl, and slowly add roughly half of the milk. Mix well until you reach a smooth paste free from lumps.
- Slowly pour in the remaining milk, whilst continuously stirring to make a thin batter.
- Lightly oil a frying pan and place on a medium heat until the pan is nice and hot.
- When you’re about ready to start cooking, stir the melted butter into the batter.
- Pour or spoon some batter into the hot pan and roll it out to the edges. Cook the pancake on a medium heat for 2-3 minutes until the edges start to loosen.
- Turn the pancake over and cook the other side for 1-2 minutes.
This recipe should make at least 4 crepes depending on the size but you can also make slightly smaller ones to get some more galettes out of the batter. Similar to our crepe batter, it is ready to be used immediately or it can be refrigerated for up to 12 hours.
How to make the perfect crepes
A couple of top tips courtesy of Spices&Hay to ensure you get the best crepes each time!
- Start by sifting your flour! We don’t want any clumps of flour in our batter so this is just an extra safety net.
- Thoroughly mix your batter once your wet and dry ingredients are combined. You’ll know when you’ve reached the perfect crepe batter consistency if you can leave a clean line through the batter on the back of a spoon.
- If you have time, we recommend you leave your mixture for 15 minutes before you start cooking (if you have the willpower to wait haha). The resting process helps the gluten to tenderise and you’ll get a lighter fluffier pancake in return.
- When pouring your batter into the pan you have to work quickly to distribute the batter all over the pan nice and thin before it starts to cook and set! Once you’ve poured your ladle of batter in, lift up your pan and use an anticlockwise motion in your wrist to circle the pan and distribute evenly.
- Have a plate next to your hob with some tin foil on it. When your pancake is done you can place it in there and wrap it up until your others are ready!
- Clean your pan after each pancake. Yes it is a lot of effort but it will save your pancakes from burning! Just quickly wipe down with some kitchen towel. This also prevents any butter or leftover pancake batter from burning in your pan, so we suggest you don’t skimp out on this tip.
Okay, we think you have everything you need to get started! Focus on perfecting and getting comfortable with your batter and crepes before going crazy with fillings and toppings. Our recipe below works perfectly for this as there’s no cooking involved when it comes to the filling!!
| Prep Time | 10 minutes |
| Cook Time | 15 minutes |
| Passive Time | 15 minutes |
| Servings |
galettes
|
- 65-70 g plain flour
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1 large egg
- 190 ml milk
- 57 g butter melted + extra for frying
- 250-350 g smoked salmon
- 100 g mascarpone
- 1 tsp ginger freshly grated
- 1 lemon quartered
- 1 bag rocket or salad leaves of choice
- 1/2 bunch chives optional
- black pepper to season
Ingredients
Savoury Crepe
Toppings
|
|
- Sift your flour into a bowl with the salt and set aside.
- Crack your eggs into a separate bowl and whisk together. Slowly add your milk as you continue to whisk.
- Once you’ve added all your milk combined, add the flour mixture and whisk until you have a smooth batter with no lumps. Set aside for 15 minutes (optional).
- Whilst you're waiting for your batter to rest, grab a bowl and gently mix your mascarpone to loosen. Grate your ginger and fold to combine the too. You’ll need roughly a thumb size piece of ginger.
- Pour in your melted butter and stir - make sure it’s not too hot or it will start to cook your batter.
- Drop about a ¼ teaspoon of butter/oil to a frying pan on and place on medium heat. Pour half a ladle of batter into your frying pan and lift the pan and rotate your wrist in an anticlockwise motion to move the batter around to cover the bottom of your pan.*
- Cook until the pancake starts to move in the pan and you can easily shake the crepe around the pan. Flip onto the other side for a couple of minutes until golden brown.
- Transfer your galette onto a plate. Grab your bowl of mascarpone and dollop a large tablespoon onto your galette. Spread evenly and place your smoked salmon on top. How much you want to add is completely dependent on you!
- Top with chopped chives, a squeeze of lemon and your choice of salad leaves. We love adding rocket with the flavour pairings on this! Tuck in and enjoy.
*You’ll have to be quick here and aim to get the batter distributed as thin as possible. If you have any holes you can add a little more batter with a teaspoon then move the pan around again to keep the pancake thin.
