Buckwheat Crepes with Potato Mushroom Filling

What is Buckwheat?

When I first started realizing that I had a problem with gluten, I was pretty ignorant about how many ingredients were out there that I could still use. I didn't really know how to cook, so most of my foods came out of a package and were usually exclusively rice. Any time I saw buckwheat on a label, I put it aside assuming it was just another name for wheat and had gluten. As I got bored with the same old foods, I started doing more research and was happy to find out that buckwheat isn't remotely similar to wheat and most certainly does not have gluten. Wheat is in the grass/cereal family whereas buckwheat is in the Polygonaceae family or "smartweed" family and is referred to as a pseudocereal to emphasize that it is not related to wheat. The part of the plant used is not a grain; the groat is actually a fruit.

If you soak buckwheat, it will become slimy. This characteristic makes it useful in cooking because that actually helps as a binder. To me, buckwheat has a very distinctive flavor that I can only tolerate in moderation. My favorite way to enjoy buckwheat is sprouted and dehydrated. Raw sprouted buckwheat has a much milder flavor than buckwheat flour used in cooking. Baked or cooked buckwheat is something I usually pair with stronger flavors.


Buckwheat Crepes
makes about 10 7-8" crepes
1 1/2 c buckwheat flour
1/4 c sorghum flour
1/2 c potato starch
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/3 c olive oil
2 1/2 c water
2 Tb agave

Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Combine the wet ingredients in another bowl and quickly combine the wet and dry together.


Preheat a seasoned pan over medium heat. I run a little bit of coconut, grapeseed, or peanut oil on a paper towel over the cooking surface.


After the pan is heated, put 1/2 a teaspoon of coconut oil in the pan and swirl the pan to coat before ladling in the batter. I use a ladle large enough to put the right amount of batter in the pan at once. Then rotate the pan to spread the batter out thinly. For more tips on cooking crepes, click here.

One the batter bubbles and starts to firm up at the edges, work your spatula under the crepe and flip. Once the crepe is done, I transfer it to a cooling plate, and then to a stack of crepes with wax paper dividing them once cooled. These can be made the day before and refrigerate well.



Potato Mushroom Filling
Fills 5 crepes
2 red potatoes, diced
3 "cloves" shallots, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 Tb fresh oregano, finely minced
1 1/2 Tb fresh chives, finely minced
1 1/2 cups chopped mushrooms
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil

Preheat the pan over medium heat. Add enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Once the oil is ready (will very slightly ripple because of the heat), add the garlic and shallots. Cook for one minute. Add potatoes and herbs. Do not stir often to let the potatoes crisp up a bit before turning them. If you stir before the potatoes crisp, you will end up with soggy, soft potatoes. Once the potatoes are nearly done cooking, add the mushrooms, salt, and pepper.

I cook these two components at the same time because the potatoes don't require much fuss.