The 30-Minute Vegan - Mark Reinfeld [24]
Pure maple syrup or brown sugar
(optional)
1. Heat your crepe or sauté pans over medium heat. Sift the flour, salt, and tapioca flour through a fine-mesh strainer or sifter into a large bowl. Whisk together. Add the water and oil, and whisk again until well combined.
2. If you are not using a nonstick pan, use only a very light coating of oil. Ideally, use a pastry brush to spread out a very small drop of oil. Use a ⅓ -cup measuring cup to scoop the batter. Hold the pan at a 45-degree angle, pour in the batter at the top of the pan, and quickly swirl the pan in a circular motion to spread out the batter into a very thin layer. Adjust the amount of batter to suit the size of the pan you are using. The crepes should be very, very thin. Cook for about 3 minutes on the first side, or until bubbles appear over the whole crepe. Flip, and cook for about 1 more minute.
3. Fold the crepe in half, then in half again. Lay it on a plate or baking tray while you work on the others. Serve immediately with a generous helping of vegan butter and maple syrup or brown sugar. The ambitious cooks can serve with the fillings or toppings included on the following pages.
Tips and Tricks
Crepe pans look like large, flat sauté pans with shallow or no sides and a long handle. This is so that you can pick the pan up and swirl it around to make the batter into a thin, large circle. Understandably, you may not be interested in investing in one of these pans. Don’t tell the French Culinary Institute that we said so, but you can have very good results using a regular sauté pan. Nonstick or very lightly oiled pans work quite well; cast-iron pans do not work so well. Since they take a while to cook up, we recommend using more than one pan at a time, even if they are different sizes.
Also, most crepe recipes you find are going to be made from all-purpose flour. This will provide the fluffiest crepe; however, since crepes are so flat, whole-grain flours also work well. Unlike pancakes, which are prized for their fluffiness, crepes are so thin that you can get away with a little more. Classically, savory crepes are made with buckwheat flour, sweet crepes are made with white wheat flour.
Variations
• If necessary, replace the tapioca flour with Egg Replacer from Ener-G Foods. Use the equivalent of one egg.
• Garbanzo bean flour makes good crepes as well. You can do a fifty-fifty mix with your favorite flour or try it with 100 percent garbanzo flour.
• Add flavor to your crepes by adding 1 teaspoon of orange zest or even lime zest. Also, play with extracts, such as vanilla, coffee, hazelnut, or even cherry—why not!
MUSHROOM-SPINACH CREPE FILLING
There’s just something so delightful about the simplicity of mushrooms, garlic, olive oil, and salt. The addition of thin strips of spinach and basil takes it up a notch in both nutrition and flavor. This filling is one of our favorites!
MAKES 2½ CUPS
1 tablespoon olive oil
¾ pound cremini mushrooms,
thinly sliced (4 cups)
2 garlic cloves, pressed or minced
1 teaspoon soy sauce
¼ teaspoon sea salt
1 cup spinach, well washed,
sliced thinly, and tightly packed
½ cup fresh basil, cut in a chiffonade
1. Sauté the olive oil, mushrooms, garlic, soy sauce, and salt over medium heat for 5 minutes or until the mushrooms are tender, stirring frequently. You may wish to cover the pan for 1 to 2 minutes to bring out some of the juices of the mushrooms.
2. Transfer to a bowl, add the spinach and basil, and stir. Top or fill the crepes with your desired amount of filling.
STRAWBERRY-RHUBARB CREPE FILLING
This strawberry-rhubarb sauce is so absolutely pleasant. If you don’t happen to hit that short window of frozen rhubarb availability, just add another cup of strawberries. Obviously, if you have access to fresh strawberries and/or rhubarb, this is by far the way to go. Just play with the quantities; you really can’t mess it up.
MAKES ENOUGH FOR 10 CREPES
1 cup frozen strawberries, thawed
1 cup frozen rhubarb, thawed
¼ cup agave nectar
Pinch of sea salt
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