November
2004
The Incredible
Crêpe
Recipes by Joshua Ploeg |
Hello Readers!
This month I thought I would help you vegans out there enjoy the elusive
crêpe. These can be difficult for vegans to decipher, but are
beloved by many. In order to be a helpful chap, I’ve made it
easy for you, so please enjoy the following recipes—compliments
of the chef!
The method for preparing all of these crêpes is the same:
1. Mix together dry ingredients.
2. Add the wet and gently incorporate with a whisk to make a relatively
smooth batter.
3. Spread 1/3 C. of batter on a lightly greased crêpe or egg
pan to make a thin 8” circle over medium heat (7” is also
large enough, if you wish to be more flexible).
4. Flip once with a large spatula when the bottom side has cooked and
begun to brown lightly (this will take only a few minutes), then cook
the other side in
the same manner, which will take only a minute or two.
5. Roll your crêpes with whatever fillings you please, you can even eat
them the simple way, with “butter” or margarine.
Basic Vegan Crêpe Batter
1 1/4 C. Buckwheat Flour
2/3 C. Unbleached White Flour
1 1/4 t. Salt
1 T. Sugar
1 t. Corn or Potato Starch
1 1/4 t. Baking Powder
3 T. Margarine, melted
2 C. Soy or Oat Milk
Suggested Fillings
• Pitted, chopped kalamata olives, chopped artichoke hearts and sundried
tomatoes with capers, minced garlic and vegan cream cheese seasoned with salt
and lemon
juice.
•
Blanched white asparagus spears dressed with prepared mustard, salt, pepper,
olive oil, lemon juice and fresh herbs.
Exciting Cornmeal Batter
1 C. Fine Cornmeal (yellow or white, whichever you prefer)
1 C. Unbleached White Flour
1 t. Salt
2 T. Sugar
1 t. Corn or Potato Starch
1 t. Baking Powder
Chili Powder, several pinches
3 T. Margarine, melted
2 1/4 C. Soy or Oat Milk
Suggested Fillings
• Vegan sour cream mixed with lime juice and chili powder, cooked black
beans,
salsa and shredded cabbage seasoned with salt and pepper.
•
Sautéed vegan “chicken” strips with grilled onions and fried
vegetables.
Fancy Hazelnut Batter for Dessert
Crêpes
1 1/4 C. Unbleached White Flour
3/4 C. Hazelnut Flour (grind the skinned nuts into a near-powder)
4 T. Sugar
1/4 t. Nutmeg
1/2 t. Salt
1 1/4 t. Baking Powder
4 T. Melted Margarine
2 C. Soy, Rice or Almond Milk
1/2 t. Vanilla Extract
German Style: use melted margarine, lemon juice and powdered
sugar with your
crêpes, rolling some up on the inside and also sprinkling the rolled crêpes
with this delicious combination.
Strawberries and “Cream” with Chocolate: mix sliced strawberries
with sugar, lemon juice and some delicious syrup, such as loganberry or blackberry.
Then mix vegan sour cream with some sugar, lemon juice and vanilla and roll with
syrupy strawberries inside of crêpes. Melt some bittersweet chocolate in
a double boiler with a bit of soymilk. Lay more sliced strawberries on top of
the rolled crêpes and drizzle some of the chocolate over the top.
Cherries with Apricot Glaze: mix together pitted cherries with
vanilla, lemon juice and sugar to taste. Simmer for a few minutes 1 C. apricot
jelly with sugar
to taste and a splash of white wine. Spread on your crêpes with some of
the cherry mixture and roll. Pour remaining cherry mixture over the top.
If you wish, pour some brandy on top and set alight. Vegan ice cream rules with
this, vanilla being the obvious choice. A light ginger sorbet or an “ice
cream” marbled with caramel might also be a good choice.
I hope that y’all get good use out of these. I know I have! Speaking of
me, as some of you know, I travel around doing cooking demonstrations and dinner
parties, in DIY fashion, for my friends and fans around the country. I will be
coming out East again on another lengthy tour in the spring of 2005, so please
get in touch, I’d love to make plans with you!
Have a Happy Season!
Recipe of the month, tour information and occasional political diatribe: www.webspawner.com/users/joshuaplague.
Contact Joshua at lefsewagon@hotmail.com. His cookbooks are available at www.krecs.com.
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