Christmas Buckwheat Crêpes are a scrumptious savoury recipe that would be perfect to enjoy during lazy Christmas breakfasts, brunches, or even dinner. Filled with leftover turkey, chestnuts, caramelized onions, cranberries, and brie, they are savory and subtly sweet. And the addition of rosemary, nutmeg, and Cointreau makes them festive, too!
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Hello everyone – I hope you are doing well!
Can you believe it’s only one week till Christmas and two weeks till New Year? Insane, right? And another insane part is that I still have 8 festive recipes to share with you. But I am positive that I would be able to post here almost everything I wanted (Few of them would be perfect for the New Year’s Eve celebration) – especially now, when I’ve wrapped up developing and photographing holiday recipes for the blog. Well, maybe one more – just the very last one – this weekend. Fancy Mimosa.
Most of the recipes I’ll need to post yet are going to be quite easy and no too much time-consuming (Such as cookies, easy desserts, and cocktails) – something we all need for the holidays. Because who wants to spend hours in the kitchen, right?
Christmas Buckwheat Crêpes
These Christmas Buckwheat Crêpes, however, will require quite some of your time (Particularly waiting time!) On the other hand, this can be a perfect recipe for your Christmas brunch (or any other meal during the weekend) because most of its elements you can make in advance. You can make crepes 2-3 days ahead and refrigerate them until ready to assemble.
This also require leftover turkey meat, but I am positive you can equally use roast chicken, duck, or even goose (Just keep in mind some meets would be fattier, so you will need to adjust the amount of butter for the filling to avoid a greasy feeling.) While the filing only requite about 25 minutes to cook, you can also make it a few days ahead. So, if you have crepes and filling ready in advance, you will only need about 20-25 minutes to assemble and bake crepes in the oven. Isn’t it a great deal for the Christmas holidays?
And the flavours here are nothing short of splendid and festive! Turkey, caramelized onions, chestnuts, cranberries, brie, thyme, rosemary, nutmeg, and COINTREAU. Do I need to say more? And the butter department, too (Julia Child would have been proud of me for sure! LOL). The crepes are not too fatty though – because turkey breasts which I use tend to be on a drier side. But again feel free to adjust the amount of butter if using other parts of your bird.
More Crepe Recipes
Crêpes with Cranberry Wine Sauce
Buckwheat Crêpes with Smoked Salmon
I hope you like these Gingerbread Crêpes, and you will make it a try. If you make it, let me know in this post or send me an Instagram message or share your photos adding the hashtag #havocinthekitchen.
Cheers!
Christmas Buckwheat Crêpes
Course: Brunch, Lunch, Dinner4-8
servings30
minutes1
hour2-10
hoursChristmas Buckwheat Crêpes are a scrumptious savoury recipe that would be perfect to enjoy during lazy Christmas breakfasts, brunches, or even dinner. Filled with leftover turkey, chestnuts, caramelized onions, cranberries, and brie, they are savory and subtly sweet. And the addition of rosemary, nutmeg, and Cointreau makes them festive, too!
Ingredients
- Buckwheat Crêpes
2 cup buckwheat flour, preferably dark
~ 3 cups lukewarm water (plus more after chilling)
3 eggs
1/2 tsp. salt
oil, for greasing pan
- Turkey Filling
2 tbsp. olive oil
4 tbsp. butter, divided
3 large onions, thinly sliced
2-4 garlic cloves, minced
200-250 gr. cooked and peeled chestnuts, crumbled
~700 gr. leftover roast turkey breasts – shredded or cubed *See notes
1 tbsp. fresh rosemary, minced
1 tbsp. fresh thyme
1 tbsp. smoked paprika
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. chipotle powder
1 small whole nutmeg, grated (~1/2 to 2/3 tsp. grated)
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1 tbsp. thick balsamic glaze (preferably) – or just balsamic vinegar
2-4 tbsp. Cointreau
1-2 tbsp. water or broth (optional)
~150 gr. Brie or Camembert, sliced into pieces
Directions
- Crepes:
- In a large bawl combine the buckwheat flour, water, eggs, and salt. Mix well with a whisk for 1-2 minutes (alternatively, use an electric mixer for the better result), until smooth and relatively homogeneous. If you cannot get rid of lumps, you can sieve the batter too.
- Cover the batter and let it rest in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours – preferably overnight. That is a really important step – as the batter does not have any gluten, this resting will ensure the crepes are well-baked and not sticky / soggy from the inside.
- Once cooled, the batter will thicken up significantly. Add more water (between 1/3 and 1/2 cups ). You can always start with less water and stir in more after baking one crepe. It should have the consistency of melted ice cream or light cream.
- Heat a lightly oiled skillet/pan. Pour about 1/3 cup batter onto the skillet tilting and rotating to evenly spread it (as the buckwheat butter is thicker than regular, you won’t be able to spread it perfectly even). A first crepe is a test crepe – so your adjust batter consistency if necessary.
- Brown on one side (over medium heat) for about 1-2 minutes then flip (it’s easier to loose edges with a butter knife first). Brown on another side for 1-2 minutes more. Repeat with the remaining batter. You will get about 12-14 crepes while the filling would be enough for ~8 crepes. You can either cut the amount of butter or enjoy plain crepes later (They are the most delicious freshly baked, but they can be enjoyed for the next couple of days. You can also try other savoury fillings like Buckwheat Crêpes with Smoked Salmon).
- Turkey Filling:
- Combine 2 tbsp. of olive oil and 2 tbsp. butter on a pan over low medium heat. Cook the onions and garlics, 7-10 minutes, until soft and just lightly turning brown.
- Stir in the chestnuts, rosemary, and thyme and cook few minutes.
- Add the shredded / cubed turkey along with 2 tablespoons of butter, cranberries, and seasonings. Cook for about 10 minutes.
- Add the balsamic vinegar and Cointreau and cook 1-2 minutes. If the mixture looks too dry, add a spoon or so of water or broth. Off heat and let it cool for about 10 minutes.
- Assembling:
- Preheat oven to 370 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil and then parchment (for easy cleaning!)
- Spoon ~1/3 cup of the filling on each crepe. The filling should be enough for 8-10 crepes. Arrange a slice or two of brie (or camembert) on top of each crepe.
- Transfer the stuffed crepe onto a baking tray folding and slightly pressing the edges. The edges will not perfectly keep their shape – that’s why I suggest arranging crepes on a baking tray the way when at least one or two sides of each crepe touch another crepe(s) This support will ensure they will keep their crisp edges up once baked!
- Bake for about 15 minutes or until the edges are crisp and lightly browned and the cheese has soften and melted a bit. If desired, place under a broiler for a minute or so.
- Serve crepes hot or warm (1-2 crepes per serving or depend on how hungry you are!) Optionally serve with sour cream / yogurt or cranberry sauce. While the crepes are the best to enjoy right from the oven, you can keep them refrigerated for 2-3 days. Just simply preheat in a microwave or onto a dry pan under a lid, few minutes (I won’t recommend the oven as they could dry out.) Enjoy!
Notes
- You can use other parts of roast turkey (skinless) as well as roasted chicken, duck, or goose. The texture (and flavour) of the filling would be a bit different, but the result will be equally delicious. If you are using fatter parts or types of meat, you might use less butter, 2 tablespoons instead of 4.
Hi – I’m Ben, a blogger, recipe developer, and food photographer. I’m glad you’re here! I hope you will enjoy hundreds of delicious recipes and a pinch of havoc in the kitchen.
Ben – the last time I had a buckwheat crêpe was at Christmastime in Paris in 2017 while walking on the Champs Élysées! ! Seriously, this is true – and I had no idea they were a Christmas thing. I have buckwheat flour in my freezer from making blini, so I want to make these and recreate the ones we had in Paris. Thanks for the recipe!
I just love the galette style you’ve used on these pancakes, so creative and beautiful. The turkey filling with chestnuts sounds absolutely delectable.
Thank you, Eva!
I remember years ago when you shared a buckwheat crepe recipe – I was so impressed as I had seen buckwheat in the store, but I didn’t really know what to do with it. You, sir, are the Buckwheat King! You’re also the Crepe King! These sound delicious, and they would make for a great breakfast anytime during the holiday season. (P.S. You should save some of those recipes for next year – it’ll make next year’s blog calendar that much easier! I definitely do this myself.)
David @ Spiced recently posted…Cranberry Almond Muffins
Unfortunately, I know myself – I tend to stop liking my photos in a year, so I’ve had so many of them considered nice but which ended up in a trash! lol
Thank you, David!
I’ve haven’t made buckwheat crêpes in ages Ben. And what a great idea to fill them with delicious Christmas leftovers. Definitely something I shall be considering over the festive period! Thank you!
Neil recently posted…Homemade Healthy Fig Bars
Thank you, Neil!
I LOVE THISE CREPE. E’ davvero una ricetta adorabile, compliemnti.
Thank you!
Nice recipe, I love the fillings. I once saw a documentary around this crepes and gallette, apparently the French dont want to call savoury ones crepes and insists it should be called gallette instead, they even made an association to keep this tradition (forgot the name)
Interesting – I thought a gallette and a crepe used interchangeably; I should be more accurate with my wording then!
Wow! Ben these Christmas Buckwheat Crepes look amazing! I love savory crepes, and this filling is such a creative and delicious idea. 😋 These would make the best Christmas brunch!
Shannon recently posted…Puff Pastry Pizza with Rosemary Aioli
Breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner or even probably dessert :)
Thank you Shannon!
These crepes look indeed very christmasy and beautiful. I like the filling!
angiesrecipes recently posted…Roasted Pumpkins with Feta, Pepita and Tomato
Thank you, Angie!