Monday makeover
Megan May celebrates a cookbook accolade with a twist on a Vietnamese pancake
This is one of my all-time favourite recipes from my cookbook Little Bird Goodness, which has been shortlisted for a PANZ (Publishers Association of New Zealand) best cookbook award.
It’s an absolutely gorgeous dish that features the best of cooked (the crepe) and raw food. The crepe is fermented to increase its nutritional value and make it easy to digest; it also adds a lovely flavour. It’s really quite simple, so give it a go; you won’t be disappointed. Pre-warning, you might lose the first couple of pancakes to the first-pancakesof-the-batch-fail phenomenon but don’t lose faith, a good non-stick pan (I use Scanpan) will ensure you don’t have any issues with sticking.
If you don’t have time to make the crepes, the other ingredients and the dressing will make a great salad with some tempeh, or as a filling for a collard wrap. Pickle your carrots when you put the quinoa and brown rice on to soak, or while your crepe batter ferments. You can also substitute the mandarin with tangelos or oranges. 2 3 spot in your kitchen. You should see some bubbles forming and the mixture may have risen as a result of the fermentation; this is completely natural.
Place fermented mixture back in cleaned high-speed blender, add spinach, spirulina and salt and blend until smooth. You may want to add a bit more spinach or spirulina to make your crepes a brighter colour and enhance the flavour. You can store the batter in the fridge for up to a week, but it’s best used within 2–3 days of making.
To prepare the mandarin chilli sauce, combine all ingredients in a bowl and whisk to mix well. Set aside.
To finish, heat a non-stick frying pan with a little coconut oil. Add a quarter of the crepe batter (about ⅓ cup) and distribute it evenly to form a crepe about ½ cm thick. Spread a little sliced chilli and spring onion over the top (this should stick to the uncooked mixture). Cook for a few minutes, until slightly brown, then flip to cook the other side for another few minutes. Cook all the crepes and set aside.
In a big bowl, mix mesclun, bean sprouts and shredded red cabbage with about ¼ cup of tangerine lime chilli sauce, until thoroughly coated. Divide between the 4 crepes. Top each with pickled carrots, cashews, avocado, mandarin segments, coriander, mint and basil. Fold in half to cover the toppings. Serve with a side of mandarin lime chilli sauce and a lime wedge. 2 3