Spices, herbs, breakfast and the muffin-top dilemma: problem solved with a crêpe via the bagel.

One of the fun things about Spice Sherpa is that those who create the spice blends will occasionally ask Spice Sherpa for an opinion. About a month ago Bagel Spice asked if I’d give their blend a shake. Shake I did…and here’s the verdict: I love it. Eating bagels must make you smart because in one clever swoop, Bagel Spice solved the muffin-top dilemma.

The Muffin-Top Dilemma

Are you familiar with this dilemma? You know when you’re wooed into eating a muffin because the top looks so good?  Only you find yourself with a taste-bud letdown when the rest fails to deliver? The folks at Bagel Spice had the same frustration with the bagels. So they decided to bottle-up what we love best…the topping. Or in this case, the mixture of seeds, flavors and spices on top of the bagel.

Turns out this blend is good for much more than a bagel. (Although adding a sprinkle on every cream cheese bagel bite did make my weekday breakfast sing a little louder.) I found this blend right at home inside of a crêpe.

The Breakfast

If you made a long list of things that qualified as bliss, a weekend breakfast would be right at the top. But most breakfasts force you to choose between sweet or savory. That’s one of the reasons I love crêpes. Delicate and light; they satisfy the pancake craving soul while offering you a never-ending array of choice for fillings. 

Want sweet? Try sautèing banana slices with a touch of brown sugar and then dribbling a stream of nutella or maple syrup. Or be a crêpe purist by squeezing some fresh lemon juice and sprinkling some powdered sugar with a tiny touch of cardamom.

As tasty as sweet crêpes are they will leave you with sugar crash a couple of hours after the meal. So set your sight on the savory. The pure standard against which all other savory crêpes are born is none other than Crêpes Aux Fines Herbes.

The Herbs

For a true crêpes aux fines herbes you need to get your hands on the freshest herb you can find–preferably one harvested in your back yard, garden box or flower pot. I used Italian parsley.

Oregano was an option.

So was rosemary.

See? It doesn’t matter so much as what it is, as long as you like it and it’s fresh. (The fact that it was rain-washed upped the good food karma for this particular serving.)

Simply chop up your herb and add it to your crêpe along with handful of shredded gruyère cheese. Sprinkle some salt crystals, fold your crêpe up and place in a pan to heat the flavors together. Each of these three ingredients contribute their distinct flavor to the crepe.

The Spices

Here’s where Bagel Spice made its crêpe debut. I sprinkled a generous amount of Bagel Spice in the open crêpe before sealing it back up to finish heating it. The spices were gently warmed and softened by the heat and gruyère cheese. The parsley contributed the freshness that is the perfect punctuation for a morning meal.

This pattern seemed to hold true for the spice blend. I preferred it when it had a chance to heat slowly with the ingredients. This process helped release the flavor. I don’t think Bagel Spice is available in major supermarket chains so you have to get it online (and if you’re wondering, this is not an affiliate link). I’ve just simply been converted to a Bagel Spice fan and want to share the flavor. 

Spiced or not, enjoy your crêpe and bon appetite!