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Beggars' Purses

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Beggars' PursesKenji Toma

Crêpe Bundles with Caviar and Sour Cream

Innovative and self-taught, Barry Wine redefined American haute cuisine at New York City's Quilted Giraffe in the 1980s. His iconic—and most copied—dish was the bite-size beggars’ purse, a chive-tied crêpe bundle filled with caviar and crème fraîche. We've turned it into a first course and added chives and brown butter to the crêpe batter.

Recipe information

  • Total Time

    1 1/4 hr

  • Yield

    Makes 8 (First course) servings

Ingredients

For crêpes:

5

tablespoons unsalted butter

1

cup whole milk

1

/2 cup all-purpose flour

2

large eggs

1

/4 teaspoon salt

2

tablespoons chopped chives

For purses:

16 to 20

long chives (from 1 bunch)

3

/4 cup sour cream (preferably at room temperature)

4

ounces domestic caviar such as osetra or rainbow trout

Need to make a substitution?

Preparation

  1. Make crêpe batter:

    Step 1

    Melt butter in a 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat and set aside 2 tablespoons for cooking crêpes. Continue to cook butter remaining in skillet until it has a nutty fragrance and is golden brown, about 2 minutes. Blend brown butter with remaining crêpeingredients, except chives, in a blender until smooth. Add chives and pulse 1 or 2 times to just combine. Let batter stand 30 minutes.

    Step 2

    Blend brown butter with remaining crêpe ingredients, except chives, in a blender until smooth. Add chives and pulse 1 or 2 times to just combine. Let batter stand 30 minutes.

  2. Blanch whole chives:

    Step 3

    Blanch chives in a small saucepan of boiling water 10 seconds. Drain and plunge into an ice bath. Pat dry.

  3. Make crêpes:

    Step 4

    Lightly brush skillet with butter, then heat over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking. Stir batter. With skillet off heat, add a scant 1/4 cup batter, tilting and rotating skillet to coat bottom. (If batter sets too fast, reduce heat slightly.) Cook until golden around edges, 15 to 30 seconds. Loosen with a heatproof plastic spatula, then flip crêpe over with your fingertips. Cook until underside is set, about 30 seconds. Slide onto a plate. Make more crêpes, brushing skillet with butter and stacking crêpes on plate.

  4. Assemble purses:

    Step 5

    Top each crêpe, browned side up, with about 1 1/2 tablespoons sour cream and 2 teaspoon caviar. Gather crêpe around filling and tie 1 or 2 blanched chives in a knot to close purse. Trim ends of chives if necessary.