"Vegan" Savory Crepes

Last week at farmer's market we picked a crepe stand to eat our breakfast. I chose a savory crepe that had sautéed spinach, avocado, basil pesto, feta cheese in it and was too good. When asked, the crepe stand owner sounded very secretive about his recipe and did not want to share. Since then, I have been "seriously" researching on various crepe recipes from across the globe only to develop an eggless recipe of my own, which now happens to be vegan too. And, that's precisely one of the reasons why I love being a food blogger!!

I just told you the best part of this recipe - it's VEGAN!! No eggs, no butter and you can even substitute regular milk with almond/soy milk. The texture of the crepe is also great just like the original - delicate, thin, soft center and crispy edges. This recipe is just a beginning but with endless possibilities of stuffing combinations. With this recipe, you can make sweet/savory crepes, whatever your family asks for. Myself & VJ like spicy food, and so I added spicy-tangy tomato chutney in the filling. For my little one, I skipped chutney and instead added some chopped cherry tomatoes. My daughter got a sweet crepe. As I just said, the possibilities are endless... just go figure!

Making crepe is an art. The batter has to be lump-free, smooth and of right consistency. Use a good quality 8" non-stick saute pan and the pan has to be heated to right temperature for perfect, golden-brown crepes. Wait for the crepe to be completely cooked and the edges to be browned before turning over. Trying too soon will only break the crepes. I loosened the edges with a spatula and used my hands to turn over the crepes. That way, it was easy compared to using spatula. Infact, the crepes were breaking with spatula, but I leave it upto you to experiment.

I used nutmeg powder to flavor the batter. While you can also use cinnamon, cardamom etc, nutmeg complements both sweet / savory crepes. Don't go overboard with the filling, otherwise the crepes might break. As soon as the crepes are stuffed-up, serve them right away else you'll end up with a soggy/broken crepes. Sautéed spinach, mushrooms, artichokes, tomatoes, cheese (feta, parmesan, brie, cottage cheese etc), all types of pesto, chutneys are few other 'savory' stuffing options for you. Try it or you'll be sorry!!

Basic Info

Complexity - Medium

Prep time - 10 mins

Cook time - 25 mins

Serves - 8

Ingredients

1/2 cup whole wheat flour / whole wheat pastry flour, I used regular chakki atta

1/8 cup rice flour

1/8 cup all-purpose flour/ maida

1/4 cup chickpea flour/ besan

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp sugar

a pinch of nutmeg powder

1 tbsp olive oil

3/4 cup water

3/4 cup milk (can be any milk - soy/almond/regular)

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 bunch kale, de-stemmed & roughly chopped

2 ripe avocados

Any pesto/chutney of your liking

Method

Using a wire whisk and mix all the dry ingredients except baking powder.

Note: I refrigerated my batter overnight, and so, mixed in baking powder in the morning just before making crepes.

Now slowly pour all of the wet ingredients, 1/4 cup at a time and whisk well until the batter is smooth and free of lumps. Use more or less water/milk until you reach the right consistency (see pic).

Refrigerate until use. If making crepes right away, mix baking powder evenly into the batter.

Heat the saute pan on medium heat. To test if the pan is hot enough, sprinkle little water and it should sizzle right away. Slightly grease the pan with a folded kitchen towel / oil brush.

Move the pan away from the stove and pour about 1/4 cup of batter in center of the pan. As you pour the batter, you have to simultaneously rotate the pan so that the batter spreads out even & thin. You have be really quick before the batter gets cooked.

Return the pan to the stove and let the batter cook on medium heat. Cook until the top is completely dry and the sides are evenly browned. Use a spatula and go around the crepe to loosen the edges. Now, using your hands, gently pull the crepe out and turn it upside down. Cook for another 10-15 secs and slide the crepe away onto the serving plate.

Repeat for the rest of the batter.

Heat a tsp of oil and sauté roughly chopped kale with a pinch of salt until the leaves wilt.

Spread sautéed kale, 1/4 sliced avocados, chutney along the centre line of the crepe and fold it from both the sides. Serve immediately and enjoy!

Note:

- Linking to "YBR - Your Best Recipes" hosted by Spiciefoodie.