Pink Crêpes with Cream Cheese Filling

Cook the beet until tender, then cool. When peeled, the beet weighed about 3 oz (80–90 g).

Cut the beet into pieces and put in a processor. Add the flour, salt, eggs and butter, and whisk.

First add ½ cup milk, then more, until you have a thin pancake‑batter consistency. (The amount of milk might depend on how dry the beet was and the size of the eggs. If using smaller eggs you might need more than 1 cup milk.)

Whisk in the blender until very smooth. You’ll have just under 3 cups liquid.

Pour the batter into a jug or bowl, cover, and leave in the fridge for at least 1 hour.

For the filling, scrape the cream cheese into a bowl and add all the flavorings except the milk. The mixture may be too stiff to use as a filling, so add milk little by little until you have a satisfactory consistency: easy to scoop out but not runny.

Cover and refrigerate until needed.

Use a small crepe pan (the smallest I have is 6 in / 15 cm in diameter). Heat over medium heat. If the pan is not non‑stick, keep butter handy and grease the pan with butter.

If the batter has thickened while standing, add a tiny bit more milk.

Use 2–3 tablespoons batter per crepe; aim for thin crepes. Swirl the batter to the edges of the pan so the crepes are of even thickness.

Watch, and when the last raw swirl of batter on top starts to firm, turn the crepe. Give it about 10 seconds on the other side, then slide it onto a plate. Stack the crepes on the plate as you continue.

You should get about 12 crepes if your pan diameter is 6 in / 15 cm. The filling is enough for six of these crepes. If you wish to use all the crepes, double the filling ingredients.

Use the filling sparingly as it is rich. Fold the crepe over. Decorate with a sprig of spring onion and some parsley or salad leaves. A tiny bit of julienned carrots will also look good, or a few thinly sliced lemon rind strips.

Serve warm or at room temperature. Leftover crepes can be covered and frozen.

In this case, cream cheese is a better choice than low‑fat cottage cheese, as it makes a big difference to the taste. If you wish to use flavored cream cheese, that is fine (I used the green‑onion flavored one). One heaped tablespoon of filling should be enough per crepe.