Creamy Mushroom Crepes

Mark and I are hardcore Survivor fans (I think I may possibly have mentioned this once or twice). Along with our friend DT, we have weekly Survivor nights whenever a new season is out. DT comes to us and two out of three times, we make him dinner. He’s not vegan, but he’s game to be a guinea pig – which is great, because it’s not always successful! We made him these mushrooms crepes the other day and it got the thumbs up. The running joke is that he knows which 2 ingredients he’s getting on his plate – mushrooms and baby marrows – because somehow he always seems to come on a night when that’s what we have in mind. I like to say there’s comfort in predictability. Also, never feed a non-vegan tempeh. I like to say that too. That was one of the unsuccessful days.

Quick note on the crepes: these were a bit heavy for my liking. I added around 60ml extra water to the batter to thin it out further, but without a crepe maker the crepes still ended up quite dense and thick. I prefer a healthier batter hence the buckwheat over normal cake flour, but half and half might work better. Or you can try a completely different flour – oat, spelt or brown rice.

Creamy Mushrooms Crepes

Ingredients:

Crepes:

• 3/4 cup buckwheat flour
• 1 cup plant milk of choice
• Extra water if needed (I added 1/4 cup)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 tbsp chopped chives
• Olive oil for frying
• Salt & pepper to taste

Mushroom Filling:

• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 400g mixed mushrooms, roughly chopped
• 250g baby marrow (zucchini), sliced approx 1cm thick
• Generous pinches of sea salt and pepper
• 2 tsp chopped garlic
• 1 tsp chilli powder (optional)
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• Squeeze of lemon juice
• 1 cup coconut cream
• Mixed seeds, fresh rocket and more chives for garnishing

Instructions:

1. To make the crepes, add the flour, baking powder, salt, pepper & chives to a bowl and mix well. Pour in the milk (and water if required) and whisk until the batter is a thin pancake consistency.
2. Pre heat a non stick pan with a drizzle of olive oil or non-stick spray over medium heat. (Note: my non stick pan is so old it’s now a mostly-stick pan, so I actually used a George Foreman toasted sandwich maker which worked perfectly!). When the pan is hot, ladle in enough batter to cover the base of the pan and tip it sideways until the batter is spread evenly.
3. Cook the crepe for around 2 minutes on each side using an egg lifter to flip it over (or toss and flip if you dare). Continue until all the batter is used up. I put the oven on super low heat and keep my crepes warm until I’m ready to serve.
4. For the mushroom mix, pre heat another pan with a touch of olive oil. Add onion and garlic and saute for a minute before adding mushrooms, marrows, herbs and spices. Sauté for 4-5 minutes, stirring regularly. When the mushrooms are golden and the marrows have softened slightly, deglaze the pan with lemon juice.
5. Add the coconut cream and taste test to see what else the sauce needs. Add more spices or lemon juice as needed. If you feel it needs a fuller, meatier flavour, add some soya sauce. Let the creamy mixture simmer for 2 or 3 minutes before removing from the heat.
6. Spoon mushroom mixture onto the crepes and top with fresh rocket, extra chives and mixed seeds.