Fresh Spinach and Vegan Ricotta Crespelle
This was a very special meal we enjoyed last night. Crespelle are the Italian equivalent of French crepes. It may seem like a lot of trouble, but it is well worth it.
Yield: 8 generous crespelle
Ingredients:
for the crespelle:
- 1 cup soy milk
- 1&1//3 cup water
- 1/2 cup vegan margarine, melted
- 2 cups flour
- 2 tablespoons egg replacement powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
for the filling:
- 5-6 cups fresh spinach, washed, trimmed and chopped
- 2 shallots, chopped
- 3/4 cup soy yogurt
- 3 teaspoons vegetable bouillon powder
- 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 2 teaspoons mustard
for the sauce:
- 1 cup soy yogurt
- 2 teaspoons mustard
- 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast (more if desired)
- 2 teaspoons vegetable bouillon powder
- splash white wine for thinning
- baking oil to spray on the crepe pan
Directions:
for the filling:
- Clean and trim the spinach and chop or julienne into strips.
- I steamed the spinach as that way it retains more of the nutrients and takes less time and electricity.
- When the spinach is wilted, squeeze off the water and place in a bowl.
- In a second bowl, prepare the filling mixture.
- When the spinach has cooled a bit, add to the mixture and stir to mix well.
for the crespelle:
- Place all of the ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
for the sauce:
- In a separate bowl, mix the sauce ingredients.
- Season to taste with additional nutritional yeast salt and or white pepper.
to make the crespelle:
- Heat a crepe pan or medium frying pan.
- Spray with oil.
- Pour a thin layer of batter over the bottom and allow to cook.
- When the top is dry, flip to brown the other side.
- When it has browned, turn out onto a plate and continue making crespelle.
- While a crespelle is cooking, you can fill the previous one and roll it up.
- Place a thin layer of the sauce on the bottom of an oven proof baking dish and lay the finished crespelle in the bottom.
- Check on the crespelle that is cooking – flip it over.
- Preheat the oven to a low temperature just to keep the crespelle warm.
- Continue making and filling crespelle. Top the completed crespelle with sauce and place in the oven to warm.
- Serve warmed and garnished with a few chives.
Notes:
The recipe can be halved for 2 people, making 4-5 generous crespelle.