Caribbean Crepes

The Caribbean Islands have been shaped by many rich and diverse cultures and influences. This is evident in all aspects of their lives, including, or maybe especially, in the foods they eat. There are influences from Spain, France, Holland, Africa, Portugal, India, their own Native Arawak influences and others. We eat a lot of different variations of Caribbean foods all the time when we are down in those parts for diving. So we are very familiar with a lot of the different culinary influences found in the Caribbean recipes.

I made some Caribbean crepes last night for dinner, using little bits and pieces of this and that.

We had a little chicken left, but not enough for a meal on its own, so I mixed it with some corn, onions, sausage, along with some of my Bajan sauce we brought back from Barbados and made crepes. Crepes, and their close cousin roti, are popular all throughout the islands.

Bajan sauce is similar to Cajun-style hot sauce and is traditionally applied in local Barbadian cuisine including meat, poultry, and fish. It’s made with Scotch aged bonnet peppers (or jalapenos), mustard, vinegar, and other ingredients. Hot sauces of all kinds are found as a staple everywhere you go in Caribbean restaurants.

First I made my crepe batter and let is rest in the refrigerator for about an hour before making the crepes.

Caribbean Crepe Batter

I cup milk

1/2 cup flour

2 eggs

1/2 tsp baking powder

salt and pepper to taste

a dash of cayenne pepper

1 TBSP melted butter

Whisk everything together well and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before using.

When ready to make the crepes, get a small skillet very hot and add cooking spray and a little butter to the skillet before making each crepe individually, then add about 2/3 cup of batter and quickly spread it over the whole skillet. Allow it to cook for about 1-2 minutes or until it starts to bubble, then carefully flip over and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes. Repeat until the batter is finished.

You can fill the crepes with any kind of filling you like.

This time my filling consisted of chicken, kielbasa sausage, corn, onions and Bajan sauce.

When the crepes and the filling are done, fill the crepes and roll them, then place them in a baking dish sprayed with cooking spray. Preheat the oven to 375* F or 191*C.

I like to sauce things up, so I made a quick creamy Bajan sauce by just mixing a little cream with the Bajan sauce, to top the crepes.

I added the remainder of the filling on top of the crepes, then covered them with aluminum foil and baked for about 30-40 minutes, or until everything was heated throughout.

I served it with some steamed carrots and broccoli and some of my leftover lentil stew Lentil Stew. It was a Caribbean meal just like what we find throughout the Caribbean Islands. It was delicious!

Cooking is indeed an art, but not an exact science (unless baking). Sometimes the best recipes and dishes are those we play around with and tweak to perfection. As I always say, it’s OK to play with your food. 🙂

Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.