2000s Recipes + Menus

Beggars Purses
Crêpe Bundles with Caviar and Sour Cream
Serves8 (first course)
- Active time:45 min
- Start to finish:1 1/4 hr
October 2008
Chef Barry Wine's iconic dish is the bite-size beggars purse. We ve turned it into a first course and added chives and brown butter to the crêpe batter.
For crêpes:
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons chopped chives
For purses:
- 16 to 20 long chives (from 1 bunch)
- 3/4 cup sour cream (preferably at room temperature)
- 4 oz domestic caviar such as osetra or rainbow trout
Make crêpe batter:
-
Melt butter in a 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat and set aside 2 Tbsp for cooking crêpes. Continue to cook butter remaining in skillet until it has a nutty fragrance and is golden brown, about 2 minutes.
-
Blend brown butter with remaining crêpe ingredients, except chives, in a blender until smooth. Add chives and pulse 1 or 2 times to just combine. Let batter stand 30 minutes.
Blanch whole chives:
-
Blanch chives in a small saucepan of boiling water 10 seconds. Drain and plunge into an ice bath. Pat dry.
Make crêpes:
-
Lightly brush skillet with butter, then heat over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking. Stir batter. With skillet off heat, add a scant 1/4 cup batter, tilting and rotating skillet to coat bottom. (If batter sets too fast, reduce heat slightly.) Cook until golden around edges, 15 to 30 seconds. Loosen with a heatproof plastic spatula, then flip crêpe over with your fingertips. Cook until underside is set, about 30 seconds. Slide onto a plate. Make more crêpes, brushing skillet with butter and stacking crêpes on plate.
Assemble purses:
-
Top each crêpe, browned side up, with about 1 1/2 Tbsp sour cream and 2 teaspoon caviar. Gather crêpe around filling and tie 1 or 2 blanched chives in a knot to close purse. Trim ends of chives if necessary.
Cooks’ note: Crêpes can be made and chives blanched 1 day ahead and chilled. Bring to room temperature before assembling.
- Keywords
- melissa roberts,
- french,
- dairy,
- seafood,
- barry wine