Buckwheat pancakes

Last week, I talked about the Russians' love for buckwheat and briefly mentioned buckwheat crepes. Well, last night, I finally had a chance to make them!

I found buckwheat flour in the massive Perekrestok (previously Karusel) in Metropolis (metro Voykovskaya); it's called мука гарнец греченая (myka garnyets grechenaya). I also used a bit of my own gluten-free flour but that is optional. I used this recipe:

200g buckwheat flour

1 egg (+1 egg white if you want the crepe to stay together)

25cl milk

50cl water

a touch of salt

Put the flour in a bowl and slowly add water while whisking, then add the milk, egg and salt and mix until smooth. The dough has to be very liquid, add water if necessary. Leave to rest for at least an hour.

Put a flat pan over medium-high heat and wait for the pan to be really hot (this is really important!). Grease the whole pan with a little bit of oil (I recommend using a brush or kitchen paper), then pour enough dough to cover the whole surface; tilt and rotate it to create a nice think disk. Wait approximately 1-2 minutes

(depending on the thickness of the pancake), carefully lift the crepe with a spatula (or by shaking the pan horizontally) and flip it. At this stage, you can add the filling or just wait a minute and set aside.

I recommend greasing the pan every two crepes for best results.

I made three types of fillings last night:

-The first one was with goat's cheese, rocket salad and walnuts.

-The second was with chicken and the Russian local substitute for ketchup (which I find actually better than actual ketchup),

- and the third was a sweet one with butter, sugar and lemon juice

It's a really easy recipe for a delicious meal, and you can make fillings with pretty much anything you like!