Crepes with Poached Eggs and Mushroom Duxelles

It’s a common thing in Russia to make a big pile of crepes early in the morning so that the whole family can enjoy them for breakfast. I don’t want to sound too disloyal to my national cuisine but I really find it too boring to serve crepes just as they are – only with some sour cream, honey or jam on the side. Instead of having four or five plain crepes I prefer to indulge only in one or too but cooked in a more elaborate way. I love my crepes to be stuffed, maybe even baked and served with a nice sauce or fruit compote. Yes, I want a complete, mouthwatering dish on my plate – and every time I try to come up with a new one.

Once I read about the so called Breton crepes: you cook one side of a crepe, flip it and break an egg in the centre (!!!), top with sliced ham and grated cheese and fold it before transferring to a plate. I tried to make some but without ham – just with an egg that should ideally become “poached” inside a folded crepe. I really got my soft, gooey egg but I was not quite happy with the whole dish – it definitely lacked finesse. So, as I made this dish some time later again, I poached the eggs in advance and carefully folded them into precooked crepes. Then I went even further: topped with mushrooms, sprinkled with cheese and put under the grill. What I got on the plate was exactly what I was looking for: a tasty and refined dish, full of flavours and looking more than just nice – especially when I cut though my crepe to reveal a bright egg yolk. A sunny surprise inside an ordinary crepe – for a positive start of the day!

Ingredients:

Crepes

80 gm plain flour

1 tsp sugar

a pinch of salt

1 egg

160 ml milk

2 tbsp canola oil

Filling

6 eggs, organic and fresh

1 tbsp white wine vinegar

Mushroom duxelles

1 medium onion, finely shopped

300 gm button mushrooms, finely chopped

2 tbsp butter

50 ml heavy cream

salt and black pepper to taste

¼ cup cheese, grated

Method:

1. For crepes, mix together the sieved flour with sugar and salt. Make a well in the centre and add a slightly beaten egg into it. Whisk starting in the centre and drawing in the flour. Add the milk, a little at a time, whisking until batter is the consistency of thick cream. Add 2 tsp of oil to the batter, cover it with a cling film and leave at room temperature to rest for one hour.
2. Grease a 20 cm pan with some of the remainig oil and put it over high heat. Ladle in crepe mixture, turning the pan to coat the base completely. Cook for 1 – 2 minutes until golden and lacy. Turn over and cook for 10 – 15 seconds on the other side. Remove to plate. Repeat using the remaining batter to make 5 more crepes. 
3. For poached eggs, break one egg carefully into a bowl. Bring some water in a large pan to a boil, stir in the white wine vinegar and create a whirl, using a whisk. Slide down your egg into a centre, decrease the heat to low and leave the egg in a simmering water for a few minutes (make sure it does not touch the bottom of the pan). Take it out and place in a bowl with cold water (it will stop the cooking process). Repeat with the remaining eggs.
4. For mushroom duxelles, melt the butter in a pan. Saute the onion for a few minutes, add the mushrooms, season and cook till all the liquid from the mushrooms has evaporated. Stir in the cream to bind the mixture together and remove it from heat.
5. Preheat grill or oven to 220C. Top each of the crepes with one poached egg and fold to make a square envelope. Transfer to a baking dish, folded side down. Top with some mushroom duxelles, sprinkle with cheese and put in the oven for a few minutes. Serve on a bed of rocket leaves.

Notes:

            If you have a poacher, use it to make the poached eggs – they will have a perfect shape and it will be easier to fold them into crepes.