Tuesday, June 03, 2008

Crepes with sweet barley & apple preserve

Having been living away from parents for so long, one thing not very good is, no one to remind me to eat more health food.

Always in the streets or on bus in Barcelona, I see people snack on mandarine oranges or sunflower seeds, good vitamine, good fiber! I used to eat them too, but that was a long long time ago... my mom will totally disapprove what I have for breakfast - a chocolate bar and a cup of cafe con leche (similar to cappucino).

Being lazy isn't any reason. Mom will say it before I open my mouth...

She is right. This breakfast doesn't take much work. To save more time, cook the crepes and barley (I used store-bought apple preserve) before bed. Next morning by the time your finished pouring milk into your cereal bowl, these fruit-n'-grain-filled crepes are already all set!

Seems to me, barley is widely used in savory dish in western recipes. However, in my home country, it is always a dessert, barley cooked with simple syrup is one of the examples. So I did what I familiar for this breakfast. To make barley & apple preserve-filled crepes, you will need:
  • Basic on 2 servings (2 crepes per serving):
  • 10 - 12 tbps apple preserve with superb quality
  • half of apple (or other fruit you prefer), finely diced
  • 1/3 cup barley
  • some water
  • some natural raw sugar
  • a couple pieces of lemon peels, yellow part only
  • 4 crepes, about 18 cm in diameter. I used the pre-mixed. For home-made version, please refer to Lore's recipe
  • some butter (I prefer) or cooking oil

Directions:

  1. Combine apple preserve with the cut apple, set aside.
  2. To cook barley: boil barley with some water for about 25 minutes or your preferable texture. In the last 10 minutes cooking, add lemon peel and spoonfuls of raw sugar. Drain. Set aside.
  3. To make the crepes: I like to use two frying pans (18cm), explanation follows. First, to make sure the batter is quite thin. Slightly grease one pan with butter, warm it up for 30 seconds or so over low heat (not hot! otherwise the batter will set too soon before you can evenly spread it out, the crepes end up thicker). Pour some batter in, swirl the pan and let the batter run allover the bottom. Now, raise up the heat immediately to medium-high or high setting, the crepes should turn golden brown in a min. Flip and cook the other side. Done. For the next crepes I use the 2nd frying pan, therefore I don't need to wait for the first pan to cool off.
  4. To assemble: Combine apple preserve with barley (my ratio is 3:1), place it on one end of crepes, roll up.
  5. Plain yogurt and a bit of mint on the side, if you prefer.

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22 comments:

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

A very interesting combination! Wonderful!

Cheers,

Rosa

Mishmash ! said...

the golden shades on top of the crepes look fabulous...so pretty !

MyKitchenInHalfCups said...

What a wonderful simple and healthy gorgeous crepe! I really enjoy barley and don't think of it enough.

Anonymous said...

Gattina those look divine!

Callipygia said...

Gattina, a chocolate bar and coffee- that is a breakfast of champions! But if one has to go more nutritious route...these make an enticing breakfast!

test it comm said...

That looks good! I never though about using barley in a sweet dish like this. I really like the idea.

Lydia (The Perfect Pantry) said...

I don't think I've ever had a sweet barley dish. This would be a very elegant breakfast compared to the bowl of cereal I usually eat!

FH said...

Perfectly rolled!:))

Patricia Scarpin said...

I love the filling you chose, Gattina!

Anonymous said...

I love crepe ... I love eating it with a coat of chestnut spread. :)

Anonymous said...

ooh, i've never had barley in a sweet dish like this. i bet it would be really good over some yogurt (or ice cream, but that would kill the whole "health" thing."

bee said...

every time i come here, i am speechless. so this time i'll just say WOW!!!

My Sweet & Saucy said...

I would've never thought of that combo, but it looks great!

Cynthia said...

This is such a nice way to eat barley.

ChichaJo said...

That looks like a wonderful breakfast Gattina!

Anonymous said...

Wow! I've only ever used barley in savoury recipes, what an interesting way to use it! Now I have to think about it as a potential recipe for sweets :)

Gattina Cheung said...

Rosa, thank you :)

Snh, oh I love that golden brown effect as well. Thanks buddy!

Tanna, me too, wish I could have cooked it even more often!

Coffeepot, thank you for the compliment.

Calli... where did I see it, probably from Katie's blog... European put the dark chocolate into their coffee, although I haven't seen anyone doing it so far. But I have done it quite many time... so bittersweet, so thick... sorta "turkeyish" :)

Kevin, I am the other way, way back when I lived in Hongkong, hadn't seen barley in savory recipe, interesting!

Lydia, I love cereal too, but only eat it for snack :D

Asha, sweeeeeeetie!

Patricia, *besos*

Cooking ninja, chestnut spread would be my top choice too! But in my area it is quite hard to get a supreme quality one.

Michelle, really love all your ideas, bravo!

bee, you are so sweet! Thank you!

Sweet and saucy, thank you so much for the compliment!

Cynthia, I just love the unique texture of barley, really wonderful!

Jo, thank you so much!

Ellie, isn't barley always used in Korean tea? I'd love to try ... go with your kimich!

Suganya said...

This is divine. When you make crepes the night before, do you leave 'em on the counter or freeze 'em?

Gattina Cheung said...

Hi suganya, thank you for the compliment :D
After each crepe was done, I covered with (dry) tea towel to keep it moist. When they all cooled off, covered with plastic/cling wrap, kept at fridge overnight. Next morning reheated at micowave (just a few seconds over medium setting), sort-of revived the flavor.
But do the crepes freeze well? Seems not to me, but I haven't tried. Please correct me if I am wrong :)

Lore said...

Gattina these look so delicate and I love your way of cooking the crepes, it saves a lot of time :)

sher said...

The crepes look perfect and that's a great way to eat healthy!

Anonymous said...

Wow, I've never thought to have barley as a sweet food. I'll have to try this one....