We did a holiday cooking class and made a delicious gratin of crêpes with roasted butternut and sage. Perfect to impress your friends and family during the holiday.
Unfortunately we messed up the recording and we don't have a cooking video to share. So instead here is Skye tasting a piece of the gratin afterwards. I think she approves :)
Ingredients:
(Serves 4 as main dish, 8 as side dish)
Crêpes:
* 2 cups flour
* 2 cups soy milk
* 1/2 cup Just Egg
* 1 Tbsp oil (I use safflower)
* 1 pinch of salt
Don’t worry if you don’t have Just Egg, replace it and the soy milk by:
* 3 cups water
* 2 oz tofu
* 2 tsp baking powder
Béchamel:
* 1 cup raw cashews
* 3 cups water
* salt, pepper, and nutmeg to taste
* 1 Tbsp nutritional yeast
Filling:
* 1 butternut squash, diced
* 1 bunch sage
* vegan goat cheese (optional, I use Violife feta cheese)
Preparation:
There are many parts in this recipe that can be done in parallel, so read the recipe entirely before starting :)
1) Roasted butternut:
Preheat oven to 400F.
Toss the diced butternut with a little olive oil and salt, and place on a baking sheet in the oven for 35 minutes or until golden.
2) Sage:
Toss the leaves in the bowl where you tossed the butternut, so it uses the rest of the oil. Add them in the oven next to the butternut and roast for 10 minutes only.
An alternative is to fry them in a small pan with oil until crisp, but you will need to drain them on paper towels so it’s not too oily.
3) Crêpes:
Blend all the ingredients together.
If you are using tofu instead of Just Egg, let the batter rest for a couple of hours before using it.
Use a nonstick pan, ideally a crêpe pan, and oil it thoroughly. Heat it well on medium-high heat.
Remove briefly from heat and pour batter on it using a ladle. The batter should start sizzling right away. Cover the pan with a thin layer of batter by tilting the pan as shown in the video and cook until the edges are lifting (about a minute and a half).
Flip the crêpe and cook the other side for another minute and a half or till slightly brown.
Place the crêpe on a plate and keep warm with and repeat until you have 8 crêpes. If you have more batter, keep that to make sweet crêpes later :)
4) Cheesy béchamel:
Blend cashews with water. Cook in a saucepan until the sauce thickens.
Mix in the nutritional yeast. Add salt, pepper, and nutmeg to taste.
5) Gratin:
In each crêpe, put some roasted butternut, cheese (optional), béchamel, and a few sage leaves (save some for garnish!).
Roll the crepes and place them in a baking dish next to each other.
Pour the remaining béchamel sauce on top.
Put the dish under the grill and cook for 3-5 minutes.
Garnish with the reserved sage leaves and serve. I usually serve it with a nice crisp green lettuce.
Bon appétit!