Andrea Love discovered crepas through her husband’s family, who make the Mexican casserole for special occasions. For this version, which won her Honorable Mention in the 2010 Vegetarian Times Recipe Contest, she replaced the meat with a mixture of mushrooms and spinach. The dish is assembled like enchiladas, but the fillings are rolled into crêpes instead of corn tortillas.
2 large eggs, beaten
1/4 teaspoon
sea salt 1 cup unbleached white flour, sifted
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 teaspoon
cumin 1 teaspoon
oregano 2 large portobello mushroom caps
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced (1 teaspoon)
2 Roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped (1/2 cup)
1 package (16 ounces) frozen spinach, thawed
2 jarred roasted red peppers, sliced
1 cup reduced-fat shredded pepper jack cheese
1 Mexican avocado, chopped (1 cup)
2 tablespoons chopped green onions
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 tablespoons unbleached white flour
1 cup 1% low-fat milk
3/4 cup grated manchego cheese
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
pinch
nutmeg salt to taste
pepper to taste
To make crepas: Whisk together eggs, salt, and one cup water in bowl. Whisk in flour. Coat nonstick skillet with cooking spray, and heat over medium heat. Swirl 1/4 cup batter in skillet to coat bottom. Cook two to three minutes. Flip, and cook one minute more. Transfer to paper-towel-lined plate. Repeat with remaining batter, placing paper towel between each crepa to prevent sticking. Set aside.
To make filling: Combine two tablespoons oil, cumin, and oregano in bowl; add mushrooms, and toss to coat. Heat skillet over high heat. Cook mushrooms seven to ten minutes, or until soft. Cool, and slice each mushroom into five strips.
Heat one tablespoon of oil in skillet over medium heat. Add onion, and sauté four minutes. Add garlic, tomatoes, and spinach. Cook five minutes, or until liquid is absorbed.
To make sauce: Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour, and cook two minutes. Whisk in milk, cheese, and cilantro. Cook three to four minutes, or until sauce thickens, whisking constantly. Stir in nutmeg, and season with salt and pepper, if desired.
To assemble: Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Ladle 1/4 cup sauce in bottom of large glass baking dish. Spoon two tablespoons spinach mixture onto one crepa. Top with one portobello strip, one roasted red pepper strip, and two tablespoons pepper jack cheese. Roll up, and place seam-side-down in baking dish. Repeat with remaining crepas and filling, packing crepas tightly together. Top with remaining sauce, and bake 15 minutes.
Garnish with avocado and green onions.
Vary the filling by adding or substituting other ingredients, such as black olives, red onions, or green peppers.
As prepared, each serving contains 291 calories, 17g total fat, 76mg cholesterol, 357mg sodium, 23g total carbohydrate and 14g protein.
