The Magical Crepe Buffet ~ Part I

Beetroot Pancakes with Oranges and Cinnamon Sugar
via allrecipes.com

Reportedly, these are South African style pancakes, very thin resembling crepes. Perfect for my dreamy vision of a crepe buffet featuring a variety of crepes of different colors and detail. I once (well, twice ever) made a beet risotto that turns out a beautiful bright pink/magenta color, so while "beet pancakes" didn't sound particularly delicious, I was in love with the idea of their vibrant color. And figured they were worth trying. I do like roasted beets!



I made the batter the night before to minimize work in the morning. Crepes have no rising agent and typically do well if the batter is blended and chilled overnight before cooking. This works great when having people over for breakfast... although in this case I still had too much to do in the AM since I was making 3 types of crepes with 3 types of fillings. Luckily, my breakfast guests just happened to be culinary artists and happy to help with the flipping.




In all the business of eating, I forgot to take photos of the finished products! This last photo is of my lunch of leftovers the next day. Having run out of the Savory Crepes, I used the savory filling in the Beetroot crepe. I don't recommend it. The oranges and cinnamon are a much better fit, flavor-wise. They were good! And the color was magnificent. Here's the recipe:

Ingredients

For pancakes:
1 beet, cooked and cooled
1 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
1 cup milk
1 egg
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon white vinegar (optional)

For filling:
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 cup white sugar
2 oranges, quartered

Directions

1. In a blender or food processor, pulse the cooked beet, flour, milk, egg, vegetable oil, and vinegar until smooth. Pour the batter into a bowl and set aside for 30 minutes. (Or refrigerate overnight, as I did.) Combine the cinnamon with the sugar and mix well.
2. Heat an oiled non-stick skillet (cast iron works great) over medium heat. Pour in enough batter to cover half of the skillet. Tip and rotate the skillet until the batter covers the entire area. Cook until the batter turns from wet to moist, and the edges begin to curl away from the sides of the skillet. Turn the pancake over, and continue cooking until lightly golden on the other side. Place the pancake onto a plate, and cover with a kitchen towel to keep moist. Repeat with the remaining batter, lightly oiling the skillet as needed to keep the pancakes from sticking.
3. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over the pancakes. Roll up the pancakes and serve with the orange quarters.