“As I watched the rinsed spinach leaves leave my fingers,
And into the blender,
I can’t help thinking, shucks I hope I don’t need to throw this experiment out.
I mean, spinach green savoury crepes? (Did I hear an eww?)
But one swirl on the skillet and I knew I could be onto something here.”
Here's a smart (or should I say sneaky?) way to add greens to a recipe: Let's take the simple crepe for instance. All I do is take a handful of baby spinach and blend it along with the crepes batter. Not only do I have a crepe loaded with green power but it also looks so vibrant on my plate! Make this a vegan version by replacing the cooking cream with cashew cream, Parmesan cheese for vegan cheese and chicken with your favourite cupful of veggies.
Makes: 8 to 9 crepes
Ingredients
For the crepe
2 eggs
¾ cup flour
¾ cup milk
1 cup spinach
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
½ teaspoon salt
Pinch freshly grated nutmeg
For the filling
2 tablespoon butter, melted
1 garlic clove, minced
170-190 grams diced chicken (approx. 2 chicken breasts), or 1 cup of your vegetables of choice
½ teaspoon dried rosemary
1 cup mushroom, sliced
¼ cup milk
¼ cup cooking cream (or cashew all-purpose cream)
1 tablespoon Parmesan or Vegan cheese, grated (optional)
Salt and pepper for seasoning
Method
To prepare the spinach crepe batter:
1. Place all the ingredients into a blender and blend until a smooth consistency. Pour the batter into a bowl and refrigerate for 15 minutes (alternatively, place the blender jar in the refrigerator directly).
2. To make the crepes: Pre-heat low heat a shallow frying pan or skillet and place a knob of butter.
3. Once melted, pour a ladleful of the spinach crepe batter and swirl the batter by tilting the skillet to ensure the surface is evenly spread; still maintaining low heat.
4. Cook for 2 minutes or until the edges start to firm. Flip the crepe and increase to medium heat and cook until it begins to turn slightly brown. Carefully lift the crepe and onto a plate; repeat with rest of the batter.
To prepare chicken and mushroom cream filling:
1. In a deep-bottom saucepan, add the butter followed by garlic. Sauté for a minute and next add in the diced chicken pieces. When the chicken begins to turn white on the surface, add in the rosemary and continue to sauté for a few minutes.
2. Add in the sliced mushrooms and sauté until soft.
3. In a bowl, whisk the milk and cooking or all-purpose cashew cream till well mixed.
4. Pour in the milk-cream mixture and while maintaining a low heat, reduce the cream to a thick creamy consistency (remember this goes as a filling for the crepe so you don’t want it too runny as well). Stir in the grated cheese, if using.
5. Once the sauce is reduced, take off from heat and allow to cool down slightly.
To assemble the crepe:
On a plate, lay out the spinach crepe (browner surface facing down).
Add in a few spoonsful of the chicken and mushroom mixture in the centre of the crepe.
Roll the crepe around the filling; repeat until all crepes are filled. Serve warm.
