Last week I made several big meals, so Chris and I have been eating (and getting sick of) the leftovers for the past few days. So, I decided to try something fun and new last night out of my Voluptuous Vegan cookbook. I have been eyeing the chickpea crepe recipe for some time, and had just purchased chickpea flour the day before - so it was a match. From what I read, the chickpea flour is supposed to act as the binder (as eggs do in regular crepes). Well, I am sorry to say it was a disaster - one so big that I am not sure the chickpea crepes will be worth attempting again anytime soon.
The recipe is essentially a 1:1 ratio of flour (chickpea and all-purpose) to water. This resulted in a gummy, thick batter that would never make it's way around a hot pan if it wanted to. I had to add at least an extra cup of water to get the batter to a more crepe-like consistency, and still I had bad luck. Uniform bubbles perforated the crepe batter with gaping holes so much that I had to turn the heat down to the lowest setting and cook the batter through at a PAINFULLY slow rate. If the heat was any higher, the batter practically evaporated into bubbles and the remaining Swiss cheese-like patties scalded in the pan. The end result was a few golden 4 inch crepes (which actually tasted good) and a disposal full of crepe carcasses. Since they were so small, we had "chickpea tostadas" instead.
Myra Kornfeld has organized The Voluptuous Vegan into menus of three or four recipes each. I topped the "tostadas" with simple roasted asparagus, red bell pepper, zucchini, corn, and halved cherry tomatoes (all of which over-cooked while keeping warm waiting for the crepes) along with the spinach-basil sauce, tofu "cheese" and potato salad recipes that accompanied the crepe recipe. The potato salad was my personal favorite of the evening - it was light, lemony, and delicious - so I will share it here instead of the crepe recipe.
Potato Salad with Tarragon Vinaigrette
(tweaked from The Voluptuous Vegan)
Cut 2 lbs. of low-starch potatoes (I used Yukon Gold) into 1-inch cubes and place in a large pot with cold salted water. Bring to a boil and then lower to a simmer for about 10 minutes until they are fork-tender. Drain and transfer to a large bowl. Saute 1 diced onion and 1 minced clove of garlic until soft and beginning to brown. Add the onion and garlic to the bowl of potatoes along with 2 diced stalks of celery. In a small bowl, combine the juice of one lemon with 3-4 T. of olive oil (feel free to change this to taste - the original called for 7 T. of olive oil) - incorporate in a slow, steady stream with a whisk until emulsified. Whisk in 1 thinly sliced scallion, 1 T. of chopped fresh tarragon, 4 T. of flat-leaf parsley (or cilantro), 1/4 t. of freshly grated nutmeg, and salt and pepper to taste. Pour over the potatoes while they are still warm and let it rest for at least 30 minutes before serving.
