Another week of 2026 is complete. I’m still in holiday relaxation mode with days full of planning, design, and recipe research. I’ve been working on my sourdough focaccia recipe, too, inspired by the most amazing bread I had in Portugal in 2024. But I took time to come up with ideas for a green-colored recipe this week. It was tough, at first, since most green ingredients are out of season, but I ultimately settled on making savory spinach crepes. Inspired by a crêperie in Portland I visited nearly 10 years ago.

Spinach Crepes + Sourdough

The week started with a deep dive into sourdough focaccia. I popped my sourdough starter out of fridge hibernation and revived it with water and flour. Quickly I realized I was running low on bread flour. And I picked up a fresh bag of rye flour to add some pizazz to my focaccia’s flavor. I followed my recipe, which I’ve made a few times, substituting 150 grams of bread flour with rye. I knew something was wrong right away. The dough was stiff and hard. The rye must have absorbed all the flour. 

For some reason I continued. As if to stubbornly see through my attempt to punish myself. I think it’s a good idea, actually, to commit fully even when you know your recipe is wrong. It’s a good learning experience to try and fix it, somehow, beyond all odds, even if it’s beyond saving. You learn so much from failure. I thought I rescued it after letting it proof for a few hours in the warm oven. But after a couple nights in the fridge it was hard and stiff once again. I baked it, and it didn’t rise or bubble. 

Rustic Croutons

I hate food waste. Especially after spending so much time kneading dough, letting it rest, babying it, and waiting to taste it for days. So I was determined to still enjoy it. I sliced it into cubes and tossed them with olive oil, parmesan, garlic, and Italian seasoning, and toasted them. Like crusty, crunchy pizza bites. Pure carbs, and a great snack. It had a slight rye flavor, but no sour flavor because the starter essentially died in the process. I couldn’t wait to pick up more bread flour and try again. I was so determined. 

So I went to the store early on Wednesday. I also picked up some scallions and spinach for my green recipe. Which was constantly shifting and developing in my head. I raced home and decided to use my stand mixer this time. I measured everything carefully. The flour, less rye flour, more water, salt, and watched it churn. I autolyzed the dough and added my starter, too, which had nearly tripled in a couple hours. It was thriving, so I had a feeling it would come out great. I let it mix for a while and then transferred it to an oiled pan. 

Green Recipes

More on the focaccia later. My focus after folding my dough several times and letting it chill in the fridge was the spinach crepes I had envisioned. I think a lot about the colors on my blog feed. It functions almost like a gallery. For some reason letting too many paintings be similar in color too many times is a nightmare. It also helps me constantly think of new recipes and push myself by limiting myself to a specific category. The color of the week was green, so I did a deep dive into green pastas. Vietnamese honeycomb cake. And finally I thought of the savory spinach crepes from my post-college life as a food photographer. 

At the time my best friend was staying in my apartment. It was a bad snow storm and I drove to our college to pick him up. We had a scary, slow drive to my apartment and we settled in, made dinner, and watched No Country for Old Men. The next day I had a work assignment at a new crêperie downtown. I snuck out as quietly as I could past the pullout couch in my living room. And I drove downtown and took some of my best photos. It was the first time I realized I liked plain black backgrounds and natural light. 

Food Photography + Crepes

I remember photographing several flavors of crepes on a smooth table next to the window. Which was filled with soft morning light. I stood on a chair to get some overhead shots and posed the crepes with drinks, a mug of mulled wine, and other breakfast foods. The owner was lovely. She packaged up all the crepes, without even asking me, and handed them to me on my way out. I was surprised, but so excited to go home and enjoy a gluttonous, gourmet breakfast. 

My friend was awake when I got back. And I spent a few minutes plating the crepes and making a breakfast spread for us. My favorite flavor, besides the obvious classic of chocolate and berries, was the savory spinach crepes with smoked salmon and cheese. I’m usually more of a savory person for breakfast anyway, but something about it was so comforting. And I’ve never had a savory crepe since! I made sweet crepes for my mom’s birthday a couple times. But I realized that if I made spinach crepes I would kill two birds with one stone – I’d be able to eat something I was craving, and I’d have a vivid, bright green painting.

Blending Green Batter

So it was full steam ahead. I started my recipe on Thursday by blending all the wet ingredients in an old blender at high speed. I used an entire bag of spinach, eggs, a handful of scallions for flavor, and brown butter. And milk, too, to thin everything out into a pourable batter. I added some salt before I forgot and watched it whirl and mix into a green soup. I let it go for a while and gave it a good shake here and there to make sure the spinach was all incorporated. There were small, stubborn pieces that wouldn’t blend, so I transferred it to a big bowl and used an immersion blender, which did the trick. 

It also helped deepen the green color. All that was left was to measure the flour and add that to the wet ingredients and I would have a crepe batter. I dug my old crepe pan out of a pile of pots and gave it a quick wash. Then I set it up on low heat, ready to go for my first attempt. When there were no flour bits left, I let the batter rest and cleaned up a little to calm my mind. I wiped my counter and changed shirts, a victim to a splatter of green from my immersion blender accidentally on the highest setting. I hovered my hand over the pan and felt its warmth. 

Practicing Crepe-Making

Crepes are notoriously difficult to make. They take a lot of practice. But I reminded myself that I only had to make one or two perfectly for photos. I had a safety net. I started off on the wrong foot, spreading a little butter in my nonstick pan simply out of habit. My batter slid all over the place, and the pan was so hot that it became a thick puck rather than a thin crepe. I tried to smooth the uncooked batter over the top with an offset spatula, which helped a little. But as I expected, the first crepe was humble to say the least.

I carried on. This time I decided to remove my pan from the heat for 30 seconds before adding the batter. That way I could have more time spreading the batter into a thin disc, encompassing the whole pan. It worked! Mostly. It was still slightly too hot, and I had to spread the excess again, but I was improving. It was also easier to pick the crepe up and flip it onto the other side without ripping it. That’s how I knew my batter recipe was good, it was just the first attempt that sucked. I kept going, making spinach crepes, one after the other. 

Finding A Groove

Along the way I found my groove. I let the pan cool down more, I held it directly over my bowl of batter and twirled it quickly in a circle. And I managed to make a few perfect, round, thin spinach crepes. So I got excited. I scraped all the batter into my measuring cup for the last batch and put my bowl in the sink. My last crepe cooked on both sides, topped my warm pile on a plate, and I switched the heat off triumphantly. I snacked on the first crepe, too, which was in a few pieces. It had the essence of garlicky spinach from the scallions. A little brown butter earthiness, and nuttiness from parmesan cheese. Acidity from lemon.

They were delicious. At that point I was hungry as hell so I decided to leave them for the next day’s breakfast. Instead, I made a fantastic quesadilla out of two sourdough discard wraps I had saved. Quick, delicious, and easy. Slightly nutritious from the probiotics in the sourdough starter. I relaxed and let myself unwind the rest of the day. I played Pokemon on my Switch, did some exercising, and took a candlelit shower. My mood was fantastic. Hopeful and creative. 

Artichoke Pesto + Fried Egg

The next day I whipped up an artichoke pesto to fill my spinach crepes. It was an easy decision. My mom and I both love artichokes, and I wanted them to kind of have the essence of spinach and artichoke dip. I mashed up hearts with cheese, olive oil, lemon, and salt, and spread some on the middle of each crepe. Then I topped them with fresh grated cheddar cheese and folded the crepes into squares with circular folds on top. I weighed them down in a pan to keep them from popping open and sautéed them on a low heat. Then I made a fried egg to go on top.

I dug in with a fork and knife in front of the TV. The actual spinach crepes were light and slightly caramelized on the bottom, which brought out the savory flavor. The filling was packed with artichoke and stretchy, fresh cheese. The egg, to my liking, was slightly jammy and not runny, which I broke and mixed with the filling. It was heaven on a plate. A super savory breakfast crepe shining with emerald. A great healthy-ish recipe to make during a time of year when healthy eating is paramount to many but flavor is still important. 

Crepe Dreams

I’m so glad I made this recipe this week. It was mostly simple and easy, and deepened my love for crepes. It reminded me of a simple, sweet time in my life when I worked for free meals and was fresh out of college. And it opened my eyes to the world of savory crepes. Cream cheese and smoked salmon. Everything bagel seasoning. Chives, poached eggs, cheese. Next time I’m craving a deeply delectable sweet crepe with melted chocolate or fresh lemon juice squeezed over warm sugar. Crepes are so good. Make them sometime if you have a lazy weekend. 

I forgot to write about how my sourdough focaccia came out. But you can look forward to that next time. I have a feeling it’s going to be amazing! Thank you for reading. If you enjoy my recipes and paintings, be sure to check out Etsy for 100’s of art prints and recipe cards. Use code THEFORKEDRING for 25% off. See you next Sunday!

Print Pin

Spinach Crepes

Savory spinach crepes with a cheesy artichoke filling and fried egg on top

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American, French

Keyword crepes

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes minutes

Servings 8

Author theforkedring

Ingredients

• 8 oz Spinach leaves
• 1/3 cup chopped scallions
• 1 1/2 cups whole milk
• 4 tbsp melted brown butter
• 2 whole eggs
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 1/3 cups AP flour

Instructions

• Add spinach, scallions, milk, melted brown butter, eggs, salt, parmesan, and lemon juice to a large blender.
• Mix on high speed for 2-3 minutes until completely smooth. If you still have green clumps, try using an immersion blender in a large mixing bowl.
• Add your flour on top of the wet ingredients and fold using a spatula until fully combined.
• Let batter rest for 5-10 minutes and preheat a crepe pan (or nonstick skillet) over low-medium heat.
• Remove pan from heat for 30 seconds, then quickly spoon 1/3 cup of batter onto the middle of the pan and twist to spread evenly.
• Smooth excess batter with a spatula. Cook for 3-5 minutes on each side, using a nonstick spatula to flip the crepe when the first side is cooked.
• Rest on a plate in a pile to keep warm. Transfer each crepe to a plate and fill with your favorite fillings (cream cheese, grated cheddar, smoked salmon, etc.)

Notes

• Don’t worry if your batter isn’t perfectly smooth – texture is flavor! The crepes will be just as delicious. 
• To make my artichoke filling, simply blend a can of artichokes with parmesan cheese, olive oil, salt, and lemon juice to taste and spread a large dollop on each crepe.