Crepe Update: Spelt-Carrot Crepes

You remember when we did crepes way back when? It was kind of nonstop there for a while. Binge crepe-ing.

Then we took a year-long break, just to be safe, and today I have returned to the crepe party. Welcome.

Picked up a sweet book called 'Vegetarian Planet' at Lorem Ipsum and it does that thing that I always want cookbooks to do, but so often they don't: It has new, interesting, unique recipes at every turn. It's 564 pages long and I read the whole thing in one sitting.

Enter a recipe for carrot crepes (I know! Carrots in your crepe batter? Why haven't we been sneaking stuff into these puppies all along?). Carrot Crepes Florentine, to be exact, with a simple filling of spinach sauteed with onions and garlic. I used some greens I had in the freezer, and you're welcome to use whatever you want, but the real star was the crepes. So that's all we're going to worry about here. See here for crepe and filling tips.

So, since I was feeling a little granola today, I swapped the all purpose flour called for in the recipe for some spelt flour I had on hand. Worked like a charm. Feel free to just use white flour if that's what you have on hand.

Carrot Crepes

Makes 4 large crepes (enough for 1, or 2 if eating light); ready in 45ish minutes

2 medium carrots

1/2 cup milk

1 egg

1/2 tsp honey

1/2 cup (scant) spelt flour

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1. First, cook your carrots. Peel and cut them into 1/2 inch segments. Either place them in a pot of water on the stove and simmer 20 minutes, or place them in a microwave-safe bowl with 1/2 cup water, cover in plastic, and cook 8 minutes. When they are tender, drain and run them under cold water. Transfer to a food processor.
2. For the batter, whisk together milk, egg, and honey in a small bowl. In a separate bowl, combine flour, salt, and nutmeg, if using. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and add the wet mixture, whisking until smooth. Scoop out about 1/2 cup of batter and add to carrots in processor. Buzz until smooth. Whisk back into remaining batter.
3. Let batter rest 15 minutes.
4. Now, heat a large (9- or 10-inch) NONSTICK skillet over medium-high heat. Swirl with 1 tsp oil or coat with spray oil. Whisk batter before using; it should be the consistency of thin pancake batter. If it is too thick, add a TBSP or 2 of water. Scoop about 1/4 cup of batter into the hot pan. Pick up by the handle and swirl so that it is thinly and evenly distributed across the bottom of the pan. Cook 1 minute. Flip, cook 15 seconds more. Remove to a plate and repeat until batter is gone. You can stack them on top of each other--no harm done.
5. Fill with your choice of delicacies. But enjoy the nice orangey hue while you eat.

M.Y.O.S.R. -- Make Your Own Spring Rolls!

File this one under "Because You Can." Also, under "Easy to Consume with One Broken Arm," "Fits In Pocket," and "Freshalicious."

One pack of rice papers (dehydrated) from my Asian market costs approximately nothing (actually, you can see the price tag in the photo) and, if the Vietnamese were into things like expiration dates, you might see a date well into the next century stamped right next to "Machine Made!" on the lid. To the left of the shamrock. Naturally.

Actually, spring rolls are a fantastic alternative to the sandwich, which is sooooo yesterday's post (literally). You can stuff them with anything that's finely shredded and moisture free, and they'll last a couple days in the fridge if you can't shovel all six at once. Be sure not to skip the fresh basil leaves here, as they are imperative to the springy taste.

Also, don't get discouraged if your rolling skills take some practice. My first few attempts at spring rolls were loose, chaotic messes. It takes a little finesse to pull as tightly as possible without tearing the paper. You'll probably never get as good as the folks at the take-out restaurant, but you'll love them because they're yours.

Vegetable Spring Rolls with Baked Tempeh and Peanut Dipping Sauce

makes 6 rolls, takes 45 minutes with tempeh, about 15 without

For the Tempeh:

1 8-oz container tempeh

1/2 cup water

2 Tbsp soy sauce

1/2 Tbsp chopped fresh ginger, or about 1 tsp dried

1 clove garlic, minced

pinch red pepper flakes

1 tsp toasted Asian sesame oil

1 tsp sesame seed

For the Spring Rolls:

8-inch round rice papers

1 cup (scant) shredded cabbage, very dry

1 large carrot, peeled and grated

2 scallions, thinly sliced

12 fresh basil leaves

Peanut Dipping Sauce (recipe follows)

1. For the tempeh: Slice your slab into 10 logs. Mix water, soy, ginger, garlic, and red pepper flakes together and pour into a small saucepan over medium high heat. Lay tempeh logs in a single layer over the bottom.Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and cook 15 minutes, flipping halfway through.
2. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 450º. Brush a shallow baking dish with the sesame oil. When all the marinade is absorbed, transfer tempeh slabs into baking dish and sprinkle with half of sesame seeds. Turn and sprinkle with other half. Bake 15 minutes, turn, and bake 15 minutes more. Let cool.
   
   
3. For the rolls: In a large bowl, toss together cabbage, carrot, and scallions.

Make yourself a nice workspace with all your ingredients laid out, a clean dish towel in the middle, and a pie plate or large bowl filled with warm water. Start by submerging your rice paper into the water until pliable, about 10 seconds. Transfer to kitchen towel and blot dry. Plop about 1/3 cup cabbage mixture on the bottom 1/3 of the rice paper round. Top with 1 1/2 tempeh logs and 2 fresh basil leaves.Lift the bottom edge over the filling and fold the two sides in toward the center. Roll as tightly as possible without tearing the paper. Set on a plate, seam side down. You go, girl (or whoever).

Peanut Dipping Sauce

1/4 cup natural peanut butter

1 clove garlic

1 Tbsp lime juice

1 Tbsp soy sauce

pinch cayenne, or a dash of hot sauce

water (3-4 Tbsp)

• Combine all ingredients except water in food processor and spin until smooth. Add water until a desirable dipping consistency is reached.

Root Vegetable Gratin

I know I've bored you elsewhere with the secrets of a good gratin, so you're spared the lesson this week--linguistic or otherwise. What you get instead (!!) is a delicious baked dish with the earthy flavors of winter. Plus it's pretty, no?

Ok, start with a couple of roots. Peel and julienne them. [Hold up--what? This just means cut them in tiny matchsticks: slice as thin as your trembling knife hand will allow you one way, then stack the slender slices atop one another, and slice cross ways, again, as thin as humanly possible. See exhibit A:]

Saute an onion. Throw it all in a cream sauce you made yourself. Then stir and bake. Really, that easy. You can follow the sauce recipe here, for a cheesy version, or you can go with the straight sauce below. Your call.

Root Vegetable Gratin

serves 2-3, but leftovers are quite good

the veggies:

1 small potato (red, yukon gold, etc. NOT a baking potato), julienned

1 small carrot, julienned

1 medium-sized turnip, julienned

1/2 small onion, sliced thin and lightly sauteed in olive oil

[optional, some blanched, chopped greens of your choice, 1/2 cup or so]

the sauce:

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup broth [or just a full cup milk, if you like]

1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil

1 1/2 Tbsp flour

1/2 small onion, finely diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

salt and pepper

the rest:

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/4 cup fresh bread crumbs, tossed in olive oil or melted butter

1. First, julienne the potato, carrot, and turnip. Because the Internet is omniscient, you can consult it on how precisely to do this. But don't feel like you need to chop as fast as this guy. Toss them in a big bowl with the sauteed onions, greens (if using) and a healthy dose of salt and pepper.
2. Next, make your cream sauce. Heat the olive oil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add diced onion and saute with a pinch of salt until translucent, 3-5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more. Sprinkle flour over top and stir that around, cooking the flour, for about 2 minutes. Add the milk in 3 additions, whisking really well after each time to get at any clumps of flour. Remove from heat as soon as it boils from the third addition and gets nice and thick. Season with plenty of salt and pepper and pour over vegetables. Stir.
3. Grease a nice gratin-friendly dish, pour the mixture in and flatten with the back of your spatula. Sprinkle with bread crumbs you've tossed in olive oil or melted butter and mixed with parmesan cheese. [Oh, and if you want to, that slice of bacon you fried and crumbled.] Bake for 35-40 minutes at 375º.

Carrot "cous cous"

Determined to do my consumer-ly duty and eat every possible part of every single vegetable that comes in our CSA, I set about figuring how to eat those cascading greens atop my carrots.

There seems to be some ambivalence about whether or not carrot tops are dangerous. Apparently, Oregon Health and Science University considers them mildly toxic. Others feel that the greens are highly nutritious and should be enjoyed. It seems as though some people have allergens that could react with the greens? (Warning! Completely uninformed Google opinion!) I guess I wouldn't eat greens from random, supermarket (even Whole Foods) carrots -- only ones from a stand where I can look the farmer in the eye.

So, turns out, the greens taste just like carrots. Maybe not unexpected, but a little surprising just the same. I found a website where someone said they use the tops just like parsley: for flavor, like an herb. They make a lovely, earthy addition to many savory dishes, but are featured in this cold "cous cous" salad. So if you're feeling brave, read on.

Carrot "Cous Cous" Salad

(serves 2-4; comes together in about 6 minutes)

1 bunch carrots, with greens

1 Tbsp fresh mint, chopped

2 Tbsp raisins or dried currants

1 Tbsp white wine vinegar

1 Tbsp olive oil

salt and pepper

1. Wash carrots really well. Chances are, if you bought them from a farmer's market, they're still rocking some dirt. Scrub well. If you're not working with organic carrots, peel them. Cut into big chunks and throw in the food processor. Buzz until carrots reach the size and shape of cous cous.
2. Likewise, wash tops really well by holding them under running water or submerging in a large bowl full of water and shaking gently. Chop finely like you would any herb.
3. In a large bowl, combine "cous cous" carrots, tops, and remaining ingredients. Salt and pepper to taste. Eat immediately or let sit at room temp for half an hour. Flavors will intensify.