Strawberry Basil Crepes

There was some fresh basil growing at home that needed to be used so I was thinking what I could make with it. There was not enough of it to make, for example, basil pesto.

Thinking of good combinations with basil and keeping in mind that it is now strawberry season here, I decided to make crepes with strawberry and basil filling and fresh cream topping.

I am not very good with precise amounts, but here are basic guidelines:

For crepes (makes ~6 large crepes):
2 eggs
~ 1 cup of flour
~ 1+ cup of milk
pinch of salt
butter

For filling:
~ 0.5 kg strawberries
handful of fresh basil leaves
1+ tbsp of brown sugar
~1 tbsp of butter
splash of liqueur (optional, but recommended :o))
*a pinch of red chili powder (optional, but adds a nice kick!)

For topping:
fresh cream
a few crushed strawberries
~1 tsp of sugar
powdered sugar for serving

Make crepe batter first by mixing together eggs with flour and salt and adding milk at the end. Make sure that there are no lumps and the batter is very thin, just a little bit thicker than milk. Let it rest for up to an hour. If you are making a dessert, you can add sugar and a few drops of vanilla into the batter.

Meanwhile, crush a few strawberries with a fork, add about a teaspoon of sugar and mix in about half a cup of fresh cream. Fresh cream can be substituted with yogurt.

Quarter the rest of strawberries and chop fresh basil leaves.

Heat a pan and add about a tablespoon of butter. Once it is melting, add a heaped tablespoon of brown sugar and mix it till it caramelizes. Add the quartered strawberries and cook it for a couple of minutes until it releases some of the juices.

Next, toss in the chopped basil leaves and cook it for just another minute.

Turn of the heat and cover then pan to keep the filling warm. Just before serving, add a splash of liqueur and mix it well. You can use strawberry liqueur or any other flavour you like. I used orange flavoured Grand Marnier tonight.

Now it's time to make crepes. Heat a non-stick pan and melt some butter. Pour some batter to the center of the pan and swirl to spread evenly. Make crepes as thin as possible. Cook for up to a minute on one side and then flip to the other side for another minute or until cooked.

It's ready to be served: put some filling on the top of a pancake and fold it, sprinkle some powdered sugar on the top and add some of the fresh cream on the side.

Ranjit got to try the first one (so it doesn't get cold ;o)) and when I asked him how it was, he said: "very good, you could just add a little bit more of the liqueur" :o) So I did and it really made the filling even better! It was tarty and chopped basil added a wonderful refreshing taste and aroma. Simply delightful! :o)