Notes
In Croatia, crêpes are called palacinke; they are called omlet in Trieste, a city in the northeastern region of Italy, -Friuli–Venezia Giulia, the area I come from. Every culture has some form of crêpes. My family, especially the grandchildren, love them. I always ate them as a child and I still make them regularly. In this recipe, instead of making them entirely of white flour, I incorporate some oatmeal. It makes nutritional sense and the oats add a nutty flavor and texture to the crêpes.
Ingredients
- Makes 12 to 14
- 2 large eggs
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Grated zest of 1 lemon
- 1½ cups oat flour (or grind oatmeal in a food processor or blender)
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- Olive oil, for cooking the crêpes
- 1 cup jam of your choice, for filling the crêpes
- Confectioners’ sugar or whipped cream and sliced toasted almonds, for serving
Directions
In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, 3 cups of water, vanilla, and lemon zest. Whisk in the oat flour, -all–purpose flour, and sugar until smooth, but don’t overmix. Whisk in the butter.
Place a -10–inch nonstick skillet over -medium–high heat, and brush the skillet with olive oil. When the oil is hot, pour in ¹⁄³ cup batter, and quickly turn the skillet in a circle with your wrist to coat the entire bottom of the skillet evenly with the batter. Cook until brown on one side, about 30 seconds to a minute. With a spatula, flip the crêpe, and brown the other side, another 15 to 30 seconds. Remove to a plate, and repeat with remaining crêpe batter.
To serve, fill the warm crêpes with about a tablespoon of jam each. Fold over into quarters, like a handkerchief, and dust with confectioners’ sugar, or roll them into a tube. For a fancier presentation top with some whipped cream and toasted sliced almonds.
