Thyme Chickpea Crepes with Creamy Garlic Mushrooms & Spinach
These golden fermented crepes simply made from gram flour and water are probiotic rich, high in fibre and plant-based protein, which support digestion, control blood sugar and help to promote satiety making this dish an ideal breakfast option. Filled with creamy garlic mushrooms that are rich selenium, an antioxidant that fights oxidative stress, as well as the prebiotic compound beta-glucan that stimulates macrophages in the immune system, which increases the body’s ability to fight infection and support the gut microbiome. They also contain important B and D vitamins that aid heart, bone, skin and digestive health, nerve function and immunity. Overall this dish is packed full of immune boosting properties that will support your body through the winter season.
Ingredients
Crepes
- 150 g gram flour
- ½ tsp probiotic powder 1 capsule
- 250 ml filtered warm water
- 2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
- ½ tsp ground sea salt
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
- Pinch of garlic powder
Creamy Mushrooms
- 2 tsp odourless coconut oil plus extra for frying the crepes
- 150 g leeks halved and sliced
- 2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
- 500 g mushrooms e.g. a combination of chestnut shiitake and button work well, wiped or brushed clean and sliced
- 3 garlic cloves minced or finely chopped
- 100 g spinach
- 1.5 tsp coconut aminos
- 200 ml oat single cream e.g. Oatly
- 2 tsp nutritional yeast ground into a powder
- Sea salt and pepper to taste
To serve / to garnish:
- Thyme leaves
Instructions
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine the flour, probiotic powder, thyme, salt, pepper and garlic. Pour in the warm water and whisk until smooth. Cover with a tea towel or clean cloth and set aside overnight or for 8-10 hours to ferment.
- After allowing the batter to ferment and when you are ready to cook, heat the oil in a large frying pan over a low-medium heat. Add the leeks, thyme leaves and a pinch of salt and saute for 3 minutes allowing the flavours to release and leeks to soften.
- Add the mushrooms and garlic and continue to stir until combined. Cook for 10 minutes or until softened, stirring occasionally.
- Add the spinach and stir through until wilted.
- Pour in the cream and coconut aminos and stir to combine. Simmer on a low heat for 5 minutes or until liquid has thickened.
- Turn off the heat and stir in the nutritional yeast. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed, adding more salt, black pepper, coconut aminos or nutritional yeast to taste. Set aside whilst you cook the crepes.
- Very lightly, coat a large frying pan with oil. Once hot, whisk the batter again and pour in 80ml of the mixture, quickly picking up the pan and rotating it to cover the base of the pan. Add more batter if needed to completely cover but make sure it’s a very thin coating. Increase the heat to medium-high and cook for 2-3 minutes until brown and golden. The crepe should easily lift but if it sticks, cook the crepe a little longer. Gently flip to cook the other side for 1-2 minutes until brown and golden. Transfer the cooked crepe to a lined baking tray or plate and place in the oven at a low temperature e.g. at 100 degrees as you don’t want to cook it further or lose malleability, just keep it warm until ready to serve.
- Repeat step 7 with the remaining batter. After each crepe is cooked, place in the oven on top of the previously cooked crepe with parchment paper in between to prevent them from sticking together.
- When ready to serve, you may need to warm up the mushrooms. Place a crepe on a plate, spoon the creamy mushrooms onto the centre of the crepe and either roll, fold in half or half again.
- Garnish with fresh thyme leaves and serve immediately.
Notes
Chickpea (gram) flour is mostly made of oligosaccharides, which are carbohydrates that are hard to digest because the body lacks enzymes to properly break them down. This results in possible digestive discomfort like abdominal cramping and flatulence due to the oligosaccharides passing into the lower gut undigested. Fermenting the crepe batter with an enzyme rich probiotic makes the chickpea flour more digestible and nutritious because it starts to break down these oligosaccharides overnight before they have entered the body.
You can also use probiotic rich liquids instead of a probiotic capsule/powder such as the juices from previous cultures like kombucha, water kefir, kombucha, kimchi, sauerkraut, as well as quinoa rejuvelac. If you’re vegan or plant-based, make sure to double check that your probiotic is free from dairy and animal products.
It’s important to wipe the mushrooms clean with a damp clean cloth or paper towel or gently brush them, rather than washing or soaking them because mushrooms are porous. They absorb liquid like a sponge, therefore making it difficult to get crispy edges and to hold flavour.
The crepe batter and creamy mushrooms can be kept in the fridge for 2-3 days.
*To make this gluten free make your own dairy free single cream using certified gluten free oats or cashew nuts.
Allergens: gluten*
Recipe by Vegan Natural Chef student Teigan Mae
Recipe by Vegan Natural Chef student Teigan Mae