I heard birds chirping this week.
I saw ducks in our lake and green things popping out of the ground. It smells like spring is coming, and despite the fact that it rained 100% of the weekend, I’m still feeling optimistic.
Spring changes everything around here. The farmer’s market opens in mid-April, meaning our weekend routine changes completely. The sun stays up past 6pm, allowing us to take a nice, long, wear-your-toddler out walk before bedtime. There are no more wet boots to trudge in and out of the house, or lone mittens to find when you’re already running late, or cars to start so that you can leave the house without your teeth rattling.
Sure, as unoriginal as it sounds, I’m excited for winter to be over. I’m ready for all the good things that come with spring, including—of course—asparagus. One of the first vegetables that’ll be popping out of the ground here shortly, and one of my favorites.
I like it shaved into salads, made into pesto, for breakfast, or in this addictive lemon and pancetta dish. But this week, I wanted it snuggled into a crepe, together with some shredded chicken, red onions, and creamy gruyere cheese.
I chose to make the crepes out of buckwheat flour to give them a more interesting, more wholesome flavor and texture, but you can go a more traditional route with all purpose flour as well. As for the filling, it’s perfectly balanced like a savory crepe should be. It tastes like spring. And I’m ready for that.
- ½ cup buckwheat flour
- ⅔ cup whole milk
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon butter, melted
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- Kosher salt
- 1 pound chicken thighs
- 1 large red onion, thinly sliced
- 2 garlic clove, minced
- 1 bunch asparagus, end trimmed, cut on the bias into ½ inch pieces
- 2 cup gruyere cheese, shredded
- 1 tablespoon butter, for greasing the pan
- 2 scallions, chopped, as garnish
- Combine flour, milk, eggs, butter, and salt in a blender. Blend on high for 1 minute.
- Season chicken thighs generously with salt. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add chicken and cook until it starts to brown, turning occasionally, until it's cooked through, about 10 minutes. Transfer chicken to a cutting board and let cool slightly. Once cool, shred with forks.
- Add remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil to pan. Turn heat to medium high and add red onion. Cook until it softens, about 5 minutes, then stir in garlic and asparagus, and a pinch of salt. Cook for an additional 5 minutes.
- Transfer vegetables to a bowl and stir in shredded chicken and gruyere cheese. Set aside.
- Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high. Add 1 tablespoon of butter and let melt. Using a paper towel, spread butter around and wipe off any excess. Pour about ¼ cup of crepe batter into the pan, swirling as you go so that the batter coats the entire pan. Cook crepe until it starts to brown, about 1 minute. Flip and cook other side for about 30 seconds. Transfer crepes to a plate and repeat with remaining batter. You'll end up with 4-6 crepes.
- Divide filling evenly among crepes. Fold edges over the center. Place folded crepes back into pan to allow cheese to melt for about 1 minute. Garnish with scallions and serve immediately.
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