Chicken & Mushroom Crepes

Name: Chicken Mushroom Crepes
Yield: 4
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 100g butter; 2 golden shallots, finely chopped; 600g skinned chicken thigh fillets, cut into bite-sized pieces; 500g button mushrooms, finely sliced; Salt flakes and freshly ground white pepper, to taste; 1 cup crème frâiche; 2½ tablespoons snipped chives; 8 crêpes (see Crêpes Suzette for recipe); Herb Salad, for serving

Serve these delicious chicken and mushroom crepes as a main course with a herb salad (I like butter lettuce and chervil) or individually as a starter. The filling can be made the day before, as can the batter or even the crepes, which makes this an easy dish to assemble and heat at the last minute. Crepes are a great way to use up any leftover cooked meat or vegetables, so use this recipe as a starting point and get creative (they’re perfect for Shrove Tuesday/Pancake Day in the lead up to Easter). With this creamy chicken filling I love a glass of Sigurd White Blend from the Barossa – though I think I’d love this cloudy, amber, wild fermented blend of riesling, gewürz, garganega, chardonnay and viognier with just about anything! The trick to successful crêpes is using a well-seasoned, low-sided pan (see video below).

Serves 4 (8 crêpes)

Ingredients

100g butter
2 golden shallots, finely chopped
600g skinned chicken thigh fillets, cut into bite-sized pieces (see below)
500g button mushrooms, finely sliced
Salt flakes and freshly ground white pepper, to taste
1 cup crème frâiche
2½ tablespoons snipped chives
8 Crêpes
Herb Salad, for serving

Method

Preheat oven to 180ºC.
Melt butter in a large frying pan over medium heat.
Add shallot and a good pinch of salt and cook for a few minutes until tender.
Add chicken and stir well to coat in butter.
Stir in mushroom and cook, stirring frequently, for 5-10 minutes, until mushroom is tender and chicken is opaque. Transfer to a bowl and set aside to cool a little.
Stir crème frâiche, 2 tablespoons of the chives, salt and pepper into the chicken mixture.
Strain liquid into a saucepan, bring to the boil, reduce heat to medium and boil gently for 5-10 minutes or so, until thickened to a coating consistency – watch it closely as it can boil over.
Stir through chicken mixture, taste and add salt if necessary.
Working a couple at a time, lay crêpes out on a clean work surface, place a heaped tablespoon of chicken mixture in the centre, fold in sides to partially enclose, then tuck ends under to form a parcel and place in a buttered baking dish, seam-side down in a single layer.
Place in the oven for 15 minutes.
Scatter with remaining chives and serve with herb salad.