Chardonnay Chicken Crepes

To download a cookbook style copy of the recipe for Chardonnay Chicken Crepes, click HERE.

If crepes are not normally considered one of the basic essentials of cooking, they should be. They’re as versatile as anything we cook can be, working just as well with sweet breakfasts and desserts as they do with savory meat dinner dishes. They’re easy to make, and can transform almost anything into an all-new dish. (My wife made a marvelous dinner by cutting up some leftover roast beef, adding vegetables and gravy, and wrapping it up in some of the extra crepes that were left the day after we had this week’s Chardonnay Chicken Crepes recipe for dinner.)

The Chardonnay Chicken filling is simple to make as well. It was modeled after a classic Beef Burgundy, in which beef chunks are browned, then finished in a wine and broth blend that is cooked down and thickened into a gravy. (If you prefer not to serve it inside a crepe, Chardonnay Chicken or, for that matter, Beef Burgundy, is also great on top of noodles.)

This recipe makes about 6 servings. (It will also leave you with a few extra crepes. This is a good thing.)

Here’s what you’ll need before you begin:

For the Crepes: 1 cup all-purpose flour; ¼ tsp salt; 2 Tbsp melted butter substitute; 2 egg-substitute eggs; 1-1/2 cups skim milk; and  butter substitute or oil for cooking the crepes. (A non-stick crepe pan is also helpful.)

For the Chardonnay Chicken Crepe Filling: 1/3 cup all-purpose flour; ½ tsp salt; ¼ tsp fresh ground black pepper; ½ tsp garlic powder; 2 pounds boneless chicken breast, cut into cubes; butter substitute or oil for cooking; 3 slices turkey bacon; 8 to 12 ounces sliced mushrooms; 1 garlic clove, minced; 1 cup dry white wine (chardonnay or similar); 2 cups low fat, low sodium chicken broth; 1 cup pearl onions (the frozen ones are ok to use); ½ tsp dried thyme; ½ tsp dried rosemary; 1 bay leaf; 1 to 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour (to desired gravy thickness); green or red bell pepper, fine-diced, for garnish.

To make the crepe batter:

Combine flour and salt in a bowl, and form a well.

Pour the egg-substitute eggs and ½ cup of the skim milk into the well. Add the melted butter substitute to the well and mix the liquids together.

Once the liquid ingredients in the well are combined, gradually mix in the dry ingredients. The result should be a thick batter.

Gradually add the remaining skim milk until the batter has the consistency of heavy cream. Take care doing this; making crepes is easy, but the texture of the batter is very, very important to getting them right.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rest in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours. (This helps your crepes to have a smooth texture by allowing the air bubbles to clear from the batter after mixing.)

While the batter is resting, make the filling as follows.

In a bowl or large food storage bag, combine the flour, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Add the chicken cubes and toss to coat.

Cook the turkey bacon in a skillet over medium heat. (You may need to add a little oil or butter substitute to start, since turkey bacon doesn’t render as much fat as regular bacon.) When the bacon is done, transfer it to a plate and set aside.

Increase the heat to medium-high. Add a little oil or butter substitute to the skillet as needed, and sauté the mushrooms. Set the cooked mushrooms aside.

Increase the heat to high. Add a little oil or butter substitute to the skillet as needed. Add the chicken cubes and garlic clove, and cook until the chicken is browned. (Work in batches if necessary to avoid overcrowding the pan; you want to brown the chicken, not steam it.)

Put all the chicken together into the skillet. Add the wine and broth to the skillet. Increase the heat to high till the liquid is boiling, then lower to a simmer.

Add the mushrooms and pearl onions and simmer for about ten minutes.

Add the thyme, rosemary, and bay leaf.

Cook uncovered until reduced by about ¼ to 1/3. Add the flour near the end to thicken the gravy.

When done cooking, cut the bacon into pieces and add to the mixture. Remove the bay leaf.

Now let’s cook our crepes.

Heat a non-stick pan over medium heat; remove the pan from the heat and melt about 1 tsp of butter substitute. (Be careful with this; too much oil or butter substitute could damage your crepe!) To make an 8” crepe, remove the pan from the heat, add about ¼ cup of the batter, swirl around to cover the surface of the pan, and put it back on the heat.

When the crepe is lightly browned on the bottom and firm enough to be flipped (usually about a minute and a half, but keep an eye on it), turn or flip the crepe and cook on the opposite side (generally for a minute, or even a bit less) till it has the desired brownness. Stack the crepes on a plate, covered with a clean towel to keep from drying out.

Repeat the above steps for each crepe, rebuttering the pan for each.

To serve:

Place a crepe on the plate.

Use a slotted spoon to put filling along the center-line of the crepe.

Fold the crepe over.

Spread a little gravy from the pan on top of the crepe, and sprinkle some of the diced bell pepper to garnish.

Serve hot with a vegetable side dish, and a glass of the chardonnay.

To download a cookbook style copy of the recipe for Chardonnay Chicken Crepes, click HERE.

This savory recipe is, of course, just one example of a dish that takes advantage of the wonders of the crepe. There are countless others, and next week I hope you’ll visit again as we go the other way with a sweet crepe! Till then, stay well, keep it about the food, and always remember to kiss the cook. ;-)