leek and feta crepes

I have had this spinach and feta crepe recipe for a long time. It was based on a traditional Turkish crepe called Akıtma. Namely, my Mum’s recipe. The difference between akıtma and crepes is this: crepes are thicker when cooked whereas akıtma is incredibly thin and delicate. Hence difficult to make.

My crepe recipe here just works every time and it is absolutely delicious. I cooked it the other night and the smell of it brought back memories. In this recipe though, I decided to use leek and feta instead of spinach and feta.

And now for the recipe…

Leek and Feta Crepes

Ingredients for the crepes:
¾ cup plain flour
¾ cup milk
2 eggs
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Salt

Ingredients for the filling:
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 leek, sliced thinly
1/3 packet Lemnos feta cheese, crumbled
A large pinch of flat-leaf (continental) parsley
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Extra vegetable oil to fry the crepes

Directions:

1. To make the crepes: Sift the flour into a large bowl. Add the eggs, milk, vegetable oil and salt. By using a whisker, beat the mixture until you have a runny yet smooth batter. Cover the bowl with cling film and place it in the fridge. The longer it sits in the fridge the better it sets. However, 15 minutes is all you need.
2. To make the leek and feta filling: Heat the oil in a frying pan which is large enough to have a single layer of chopped leeks. Cook the leeks until they are soft. Remove the pan from heat and add crumbled feta. Season with salt and black pepper. Give it a good stir and keep warm.
3. To fry the crepes: Heat a non-stick frying pan (small size) or crepe pan on medium heat. Lightly oil the pan. Take the batter out of fridge and whisk well. Add ¼ of the batter mixture and swirl to completely cover the bottom of the frying pan. Cook until underside of the crepe is browned. Loosen the edges and flip it over. The other side won’t take as much. One it’s golden brown, slide crepe out of the pan and repeat this process with remaining batter. You might need to oil the pan every now and then.
4. Divide leek and feta mixture onto four crepes, roll them up and cut each one into two. Serve immediately.

Recipe Notes:
• You could use a blender instead of a whisker. Actually, using a blender makes the batter smoother. Just process the batter for 30 seconds. It should be smooth and bubbles form on top.
• If you’re not using the crepes immediately, cool them first, place wax paper between them and stack them up. This way, they can be refrigerated up to 3 days.

Serving suggestion: Because the crepes are quite thick and filling, I serve them as main course and always with a salad. Trust me, you won’t go hungry.