Crepes? Pancakes? Thin, gluten-free, and yummy. Sound good?

To go with my magical concoction of sautéed sweet potato, white kidney beans, tomatoes, onion, garlic, and spinach -- yummy!! -- I made these crepes. They are gluten free, and grain free, and really good for you, full of protein etc. Next time? I shall attempt vegan ...

The use of ground chia made the batter a little thicker, so they are less crepe and more pancake. but they still serve the purpose and are awwwwwweeeeeeessssssssssooooooooome.

ingredients:

4 eggs

1 cup water

1/4 cup flax meal

2 tbsp ground sesame seeds

2 tbsp ground chia

pinch sea salt

black pepper

1 cup almond flour

directions:

1. combine the above ingredients

2. cook in a cast iron pan 1/4 cup at a time, turning after 1-2 minute

makes 10 pancakes

crepes -- the gluten free version -- suitable for dinner or dessert

Crepes. Need I say more?

Well, I should probably say they are fragile. The sans-gluten thing does that. You won't be able to roll 'em.

ingredients:

4 eggs
1 cup water

1/2 cup flax meal
pinch sea salt
black pepper

1 cup almond flour


directions:

1. combine the above ingredients
2. let sit for 1 hour
3. cook in a hot skillet 1/4 cup at a time, turning after 1 minute

makes 10 thin crepes

Crepes, the recipe. Dairy free, high in protein, but not nut free and not gluten free.

I really like crepes. I apologize to my gluten-free readers that this recipe is not for you, unless you have a handy flour you can sub in for the kamut. It is dairy free, but not vegan, although I can assure you our eggs come from very happy pastured chickens who live a good fowl life. Yes, we get them from The Milk Man.

I really like crepes, but I wanted a version that is lower in grain than our old standby that I'd make with milk and eggs and whole wheat flour. These ones use almond meal and chia seeds, and have a lovely taste and texture.

If you've never made crepes before, I will tell you right off that they are both easy and hard to make. Don't let the word hard stop you, because you will quickly get the hang of it. 

You need a good non-stick pan. I prefer my big square cast iron skillet for this, but I'm sure you'll have your fave.

There are 4 main things that make crepes tricky:

1. Getting the temperature just right for perfect cooking

2. Rolling the pan as it were to spread the batter when you pour it on

3. The sacrificial crepe -- more on that later

4. uh ... I forgot what 4 was for ... 

1. Now, cast iron pans take a little time to heat up, and I find that my first couple of crepes need 2 minutes per side, but after that 1 minute per side is fine. You want to keep your eye on the heat, and tweak it so that you can brown your crepes slightly without burning them in the alotted time. Usually pretty low -- 2 to 4 on the temperature dial seems to work best for me, but that also depends on the element.

2. You scoop the batter by 1/4 measure on to the middle of the pan, and then pick it up and tip it around and around to allow the batter to spread in a circle. This is how you get a nice thin crepe. If you are using a cast iron pan, it will be heavy, and you'll need to use 2 hands. If it has a helper handle, that can be very helpful for this. You'll need oven mitts after a while as the cast iron gets hot and distributes its heat.

3. Your first crepe will stick, fall apart, be both overcooked and undercooked, and must not be taken as discouraging or significant. Quite frankly, it's part of the process both in pancakes and in crepes. Around here we call it the sacrificial crepe or the sacrificial pancake. The first one in the pan is not a good indicator of things to come.

4. Dang. I still don't know what 4 was for ...

Onwards and upwards.

ingredients:

1 1/2 cups water

4 eggs

1/2 tsp sea salt

black pepper

1 cup almond flour

2 tbsp chia seeds

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup kamut flour

directions:

1. whisk together water, eggs, salt, and pepper

2. add the almond flour and chia seeds

3. add baking soda

4. add kamut flour

5. allow the batter to sit for at least 20 minutes

6. heat up your crepe pan/ griddle/skillet etc after liberally coating with coconut oil

7. when the pan is up to temperature, scoop 1/4 cup of batter on to it, and tilt around and around to spread batter

8. set the timer for 1 or 2 minutes

9. flip with a spatula when the crepe is ready, and set the timer again for 1 or 2 minutes

10. remove the crepe to a plate and repeat until all the batter is gone.

If you are less ocd than I, you can skip the timer, and just wing it, flipping at will. But I can't guarantee the results if you do.

These crepes would be lovely for sweet with the addition of some vanilla and cinnamon in the batter. 

As they are, I might try grinding the chia seeds next time, instead of putting them in whole. I found it made for an interesting texture, but I'd also be interested to see what the other way is like.

Crepes for Dinner!

It's a simple thing, really. But almost everyone loves crepes. You can fill them with whatever you like, savoury or sweet, and it's a very pleasing meal.

At four o'clock I realized I didn't know what to make for dinner. So, I thought of crepes. I whipped up this batter, then let it sat while I began to compile the filling. For the uninitiated, crepe batter (especially one with chia seeds in it) needs to sit for a while before using. The filling was a result of a quick scan of the freezer, and some of the lovely tomatoes sitting in a bowl on the counter. Kidney beans, tomato, onion, garlic, corn, peas, carrots and broccoli made a bring and very very tasty filling. By five o'clock, all the crepes were finished, and the filling was cooked and ready to fill. The crepes were interesting, comprised mainly of almond flour, water, and eggs, with some chia seeds (I might grind them next time) and a wee bit of kamut flour. They are thin, with a delicate and yet fluffy texture. I wish I had a gluten-free flour to sub in that would keep the same sturdiness and flexibility. If you know of one yourself that you like to use, please let me know how it goes. 

These high protein crepes and their veggie-full filling make a very satisfying, belly filling meal that's nicely colourful, and full of deliciousness.  And enjoyable for all ages. The recipes for both the crepes and the filling will follow on the heels of this one.