Vegan Savoury Crepe/Omelette

I threw the original version of these together when morning when I needed to bring together an odd combination of leftovers and nearly-past-it vegetables I'd salvaged from the bottom of my fridge. Though I generally just guess the proportions when I make them these days, when I presented my vegan breakfast class at Laneway Learning last year, I realised I should probably have an actual recipe for people to follow, so here it is!

These aren't exactly like an omelette in taste or texture, and also in that you wrap it around the fillings rather than folding them into the batter, but what else do you call it? Most importantly, it's super delicious. Even better, it's a great way of repurposing leftovers, can be throw together in about 10 minutes (great for lazy mornings and hangovers alike), and the batter will last in the fridge for up to a week (possibly even longer).

Leftovers from making tacos or nachos are great for fillings, otherwise any mix of veggies sauteed are equally great. You don't need to do anything too fancy. Cook the fillings beforehand and set aside covered so they stay warm.

Blend (in an upright blender or using an immersion blender):

300g firm silken tofu
200g soy milk
80g besan (chickpea) flour
30g cornstarch (cornflour)
20g olive oil
6g nutritional yeast flakes
Big pinch each of salt, pepper, oregano, garlic powder

Heat a non-stick (or very well seasoned cast iron) over medium heat. Grease with the fat of your choosing, then ladle about 1/2 cup - 1 cup of the batter into the pan; use the back of the ladle of cup to evenly spread the batter over the pan. Place a lid on the pan: glass lids are useful because you can see when it's drying, otherwise check after a couple of minutes to see if the top of the crepe has dried out a bit. Once the top has dried out, flip the crepe over and cook briefly on the other side. Adjust the heat of the pan as necessary to make sure they don't burn.

Set cooked crepes onto plates, and cover half with the filling of choice. Fold the free half over the top, dust with paprika and serve!

I'm about halfway through my Barcelona post (I went again this year) so, once again, I'm posting a recipe to fill in the meantime! Hopefully that'll be up soon, or I'll just have to share more recipes!

Quick Breakfast Fry-Up of Ridiculous Tastiness

As much as I love recipe books, when it comes to cooking breakfast, I always just throw in whatever and hope it turns out delicious. While leftovers often get thrown into lunchboxes, dinner, or the bin, making a big breakfast fry-up is a great way of using them: that way, they're right at the front (so probably only from last night!), rather than languishing at the back before they're eventually discovered, unrecognisable, several months later.

The other day, there was a heap of hummus left over from a dip platter that we'd made and, rather than letting it languish (as I knew it would), I decided I'd use it in breakfast. If I do say so myself, it was DELICIOUS. The following day I made it again and it was (to my surprise) just as delicious. I don't know where the magic is in this dish but, believe me, it's in there.

I would highly recommend making up a big batch of seitan on the weekend and have it in the fridge to use over the week (or make up a really big batch and keep it in the freezer so you can use it over a couple of weeks), otherwise use a store-bought seitan that you like: you may have to add in a few herbs and spices, so adjust to taste. If you don't have hummus left over, whip up a quick batch and add the kochujang directly into it when making it, or make up a big batch and keep it in the fridge and use it bit-by-bit over the week.

To save washing up, you can make the sauce and serve the dish in the same bowl (which may also be the bowl that the hummus was originally served in!)

Quick Breakfast Fry-Up

What You'll Need

Utensils

Frying pan

Fork, for stirring (and eating)

Bowl (for making sauce and serving)

Ingredients

1/2-3/4 cup hummus (the best recipe for hummus ever is Dreena Burton's Creamy Hummus from "Vive le Vegan")

1/2-2 tablespoons kochujang (spicy Korean miso, also spelled "gochujang"; I used Sasakani Kobo's excellent kochujang, but you can also buy commercial kochujang at Asian supermarkets. Alternatively, you can use miso with a few pinches of chilli flakes or chilli powder).

Coconut oil, for frying

around 1/2 cup chopped seitan (my favourite recipe is Julie Hasson's Italian Sausage Cutlets from "Vegan Diner"; if you use that recipe, use one patty/sausage, chopped)

1 large portobello or flat mushroom, diced

1 tomato, diced

1/4 red capsicum, diced (optional)

1/4-1/2 cup greens of choice, roughly chopped

Now That You're Ready

1. Add enough water to the hummus to make it runny, like a thick sauce (add a little, then mix with a fork, then repeat until it's thin enough to drip). Add in about 1 tablespoon of kochujang (or miso and chilli flakes). Break up the lump with the fork then stir it in until it is dissolved in. Taste, and add more kochujang if you'd like it a little spicier (I always do). Set aside.

2. Add a good whack of coconut oil (around 2-3 tablespoons) to the frying pan and, when it becomes hot, add in the seitan. Fry for a minute or two. When it starts to brown on one side, flip it over and add in the diced mushrooms. Fry them together, shaking the pan to ensure they don't get stuck in the one spot until the mushrooms begin to soften and brown (the mushrooms will soak up a lot of the coconut oil, so the pan will be near dry). Tip them out of the pan and into the bowl with the sauce.

3. Return the frypan to the stove and add in the tomatoes and (optional) capsicum. Cook them (shaking the pan occasionally) until they begin to soften, then add in the greens. Pour in about 1/4 cup of water into the pan: this will help the tomatoes dissolve a little and also steam the greens.

4. When the greens become bright green and the water is nearly dissolved, tip the sauce (with the seitan and mushrooms) back into the pan and lower the heat a little; you just want to warm up the sauce. As soon as it begins to bubble, it's ready: tip into the bowl and enjoy!

It ain't pretty, but it sure is tasty!

Caramelised Mangoes to Bid the Mango Season Farewell

We were shopping at a small grocery store the other day when I noticed that they had a bargain bin; my Scottish heritage took over and we bought pretty much one of everything.

Most of the things were fine, but there were some mangoes in the mix that were just... well, they were clearly put in the bargain bin for a reason. I ate one by itself and it very nearly destroyed my great love of mango.

Making caramelised mangoes is a great way is using up mangoes that are just a bit past it (which most of them will be now that they're going out of season!), and are also a wonderful way of sneaking toffee onto your breakfast plate. The mango skins make the perfect bowl to scoop the deliciousness from.

If mangoes are well and truly gone from your local grocery, experiment with other fruit (bananas, oranges or even grapefruit, for example).

They mightn't look fancy, but gosh they taste good!

What You'll Need

Ingredients

Mangoes (as many as you have!)

Brown sugar (around 1/4 should suffice for 2-3 mangoes; I prefer dark brown sugar)

Salt (just the tiniest little bit!)

Oil

Utensils

Knife

Tongs

Grill pan

Now That You're Ready

1. Put a little oil in the grill pan and heat it up. Cut off the mango cheeks; you can cook the seed section as well if you want, but it doesn't cook as well.

2. Put the brown sugar and salt (half a twist/a pinch for each cheek (MANGO cheek!)) on a plate and mix together. Press each cheek into the mixture and place, flesh side down, into the grill pan.

3. Sizzle sizzle! Once the flesh is softer and the sugar has caramelised, turn each cheek 90 degrees so they'll have cross hatching.

4. When both directions of lines are burnt into the mango, flip it over and cook for about a minute on the skin side.

5. Remove from the pan; consume and enjoy!