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RSSSunday, May 4, 2008
The Day I Talk About Nutella
Alors! We had crepe! To my dear friends who had seen crepes for their first time secretly wonders why we are paying €4.00 for a "lempeng". I of course have been there done that. Hahah, I insisted crepes ARE essentially french for lempeng. It is technically simply the idea of a batter of flour, maybe eggs, maybe not, maybe sugar maybe not, maybe milk maybe not, cooked on a flat platter and made into a thin soft round "pastry."
The thing that attracted us into La Banane (The Banana) was well, basically the fact that it was one of the cafes that was indoors, it was raining, and this little "OPEN/ BUKA" sign.
Of which, after having a delightful chat with the owner, was bought in l'Indonesie (haha oh well close enough). But why the banana? I mean haha come on! Apparently the place was famous with mediterranean harvests (Nice is part of Provence Region, "Door of Mediterranean to France")- one of it evidently are Bananas. Underground, in a cellar under the shop, bananas harvested are kept to mature and ripe. Hence, the name of the little cafe. Original. Haha! but still.
The first time I had crepe, was when we were made to sell them at the International Language Festival, at which the French Club of Sekolah Menengah Sains Hulu Selangor (my Alma Matter) had some really colorful characters mending the batter part of the production.
The 2nd time I had crepe, it was in La Rochelle where Annick, my dear French mother, sat us down at a typical french cafe near the La Rochelle dock, looking over the lighthouse. That was my first NUTELLA crepe. So I decided to relive the taste, and opted for a Crepe Sucre (sweet) avec Nutella.
The softness of the pastry, contradicted with the dry powdery flour on the crepe brought back memories. Without a doubt, as expected, the super-thick warm nutella created another sensation in the mouth. I might be exagerrating, u say- it's just crepe! But I love being aware of what I eat, more than anything else. So sue me! ;)
The next day, just to sit, we decided to have another one. This time, a cheaper one. Nevertheless, the experience was much more... unexpected!
This Madame started off our crepe Nutella with the premade better on a hot pan, outside her little cafe!
...and the Nutella came next, when the crepe has browned.
After Nutella, it is wrapped once, and then again...
This recipe I found, is the basic way to make the crepe base. One can basically put ANYTHING, and I mean ANYTHING one desires with one's crepe.
INGREDIENTS:
- 3 eggs
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/4 cups milk
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup melted butter
PREPARATION:
Beat eggs until smooth. Add milk and butter. Sift flour and salt; gradually add to egg mixture. Beat until the batter is smooth. Batter will be thin, like heavy cream. If possible, let the batter rest for 2 hours at room temperature or 8 to 10 hours in the refrigerator.
Grease skillet or crepe pan lightly; heat until fat is sizzling hot. Pour batter into pan and rotate quickly to distribute batter. If batter seems too thick, add more milk in very small amounts until consistancy is corrected.
Cook crepe until light brown; turn to cook other side. Remove from pan, lightly grease the pan, and continue cooking until batter is used. Fill crepes with desired filling or cool, wrap and refrigerate until ready to fill.
Downing it all with a good 'ol cup of cafe au lait
One notable experience I had was a crepe salee (savoury) with a half cooked bulls eye egg on top of salmon and the crepe was wrapped around the egg yolk. My lycee English teacher favoured me the moment she heard me spoke english- (I was always told exchange students should find the english teacher the best bet!)- and hence the delightful experience of the crepe au saumon in a fancy crepe house. And yes, the price can get fancy as well!
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good old lempeng.
couldnt believe in malaysia it was once considered as a poor man's food.
look how it much it costs now.
padehal ingredients lebih kurg sama mcm buat cekodok.
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