Gluten Free Crêpe Recipe – Confetti Fruit + Mortadella & Cheese

Crêpes for all [wheat & dairy sensitivity]

I have a fondness for breakfast and brunch foods. In fact, I would say brunch is hands-down my favorite repast. On the weekends, the mid-morning meal represents the quality time I get to spend with people I love. Coffee that I can sip in comfort, and a meal that befits my more leisurely weekend tempo.

The hubs loves sweet and savory meals of french toast, pancakes, waffles and crepes. The challenge is that with a gluten sensitivity, we have to be more creative with options that taste almost or as good as the wheat version.

I want to share a simple crepe recipe that you can enjoy with your partner, your rambunctious family, or special date. If they have a gluten or dairy sensitivity, no problem!

Keep reading and you’ll see easy-peasy recipes for mortadella & cheese crepes and confetti fruit crepes. Fun fact, funfetti was trademarked by Pillsbury, so hence the references here to confetti and the use of rainbow sprinkles to achieve the effect.

A little crêpe history mon ami

The delicate, thin pancake is typically made of wheat flour. It’s French in origin and is a Latin derivative of the term crispa, which translates to ‘curled’. The history of crepes date back to the thirteenth century in Brittany, a region west of France. Crepes were made famous in Brittany and eventually became a national dish of France.  These delicate pancakes are most often filled with fruit fillings with sweet syrup, fresh fruit, and even a sweet lemon filling.

Crepes today can be found in much of the Western world. It’s popularity is seen in US, Canada, Belgium, and throughout Europe. Crepes are often eaten for breakfast, dessert, and the savory versions are ideal for lunch, snack or even dinner. Depending on the preparation, you could theoretically enjoy it breakfast, lunch and dinner. Popular savory versions include fillings of ham, cheese, and eggs with various types of veggies, i.e. mushrooms and spinach.

From time to time, you’ll see crêperies that specialize in an assortment of sweet and savory crepes. It’s also a popular item on some restaurant menus, but it’s easy to make at home. You don’t need any special equipment to make crepes in your own kitchen. Just grab that skillet, and let’s get started.

Basic Gluten Free Crepe Recipe

The first thing you want to do is to make the crepes themselves. You’ll need to gather up your ingredients. Dry ingredients of gluten-free flour and a pinch of salt. Wet ingredients of eggs, almond milk and vegan butter (for those with dairy sensitivities).  See the ingredients list below.

For gluten-free flour, I would recommend Bob’s Red Mill all-purpose baking flour, or King Arthur’s all-purpose flour. Both are high quality GF flours. The Bob’s Red Mill flour I use is made from a blend of garbanzo bean flour, potato starch, whole grain white sorghum flour, tapioca flour, and fava bean flour.  If you’re curious, the King Arthur all-purpose flour is a blend made from rice flour, tapioca flour, potato starch, and whole grain brown rice flour.

Ingredients of GF flour, eggs, butter and almond milk

Blend flour and a few pinches of sea salt
Quickly blend the GF flour with a few pinches of sea salt or kosher salt.

Blend GF flour and a few pinches of salt

Combine wet ingredients in a separate bowl
In a separate bowl, blend all your wet ingredients first. Your eggs, almond milk and melted butter (cooled to room temperature) should be whisked together until its well combined.

Then add your blended flour in with the wet ingredients, whisk until its well combined. Then set your batter aside

Whisk and combine all the ingredients

Heat up 9-inch skillet to make crepes
Use extra virgin olive oil spray oil to lightly grease the Skillet, then heat it up to a medium heat. Once the pan is hot, then ladle in the batter (~5 tablespoons) until the bottom of the pan is completely covered. You’ll want to tilt the pan around so the batter evenly spreads. Give it a minute to a minute-and-a-half and then carefully flip over with a large spatula. The other side will need half the time.

Stack up the cooked crepes on a platter
You’ll be able to make one crepe at a time, and the time goes by pretty fast. Stack up the crepes on a large plate or platter.

Basic Crepe Ingredients (makes ~12 servings)

– 1 3/4 cup of gluten-free flour
– Few pinches of sea salt
– 3 large brown eggs
– 2 tablespoons of vegan (or regular) butter
– 2 cups of Almond milk
– extra virgin olive oil spray

Mortadella & Cheese Crepes

What I do is split the 12 crepes and make half savory crepes, and half sweet crepes. The first batch of 6 crepes, I start with the savory filled crepe of mortadella (Italian bologna) combined with diced tomatoes, mushrooms, and shredded cheese. Mortadella is basically a fancier bologna that has become quite popular. It’s made from finely ground, cured pork and flavored with spices and includes whole peppercorns, myrtle berries and slices of pistachios. It’s certainly not the bologna I grew up with back in the day.

For dairy sensitivity, Daiya mozzarella shreds are fantastic. Otherwise go with a nice blend of mozzarella and cheddar shredded cheese.

Savory ingredients

Heat up the skillet and make savory crepes
Make one crepe at a time and fill with a large tablespoon of each type of savory ingredient. Then fold over the crepe to cover the filling, using the large spatula. A minute on each side (carefully flip over the closed crepe).

Serve up the crepes on a platter, and dig in.

Savory crepes ready to eat

Savory Filling Ingredients

– 1/2 cup of diced tomatoes
– 3/4 cup of shredded (vegan) cheese
– 1/2 cup of sliced mushrooms
– 3-4 slices of Mortadella (Italian bologna) or ham. Diced up.
– 1/4 tsp Herbs de provence

Confetti Fruit Crepes

You can then use the remaining crepes to make sweet fruity versions, which the kids (or the kids at heart) will love.

Prep fresh bananas, strawberries and blueberries for the filling
Slice up the bananas and strawberries. Place them in a bowl along with the fresh blueberries. Sprinkle the fruit with cinnamon.

Heat up the skillet to make the fruit-filled crepes
Heat up the skillet at a medium temperature and place a generous tablespoon of each type of sliced fruit. Add more to your liking, and then fold over the crepe. Heat both sides of the folded crepe for about a minute.

Place the finished crepe on a serving plate and get ready to adorn with the funfetti part.

Melt dark chocolate down in a bowl
In a microwave safe bowl, you can melt down 70-80% dark chocolate (or bittersweet baking chocolate chips). Microwave on high for 1 minute when you’re actually ready to use the chocolate. Stir the chocolate with a spoon before you drizzle over each of the folded crepes. You can do zig-zags of melted chocolate over the folded crepe.

Top off the fruit-filled crepes with rainbow sprinkles
On each crepe, drizzle the melted dark chocolate using a table spoon. Then optionally add non-dairy (or regular) whip cream. You can add sprinkles at the top and then serve it up on a dish.

Confetti Fruit Filling Ingredients

– 1-2 large bananas (sliced)
– 1/2 cup of strawberries (stems removed, sliced)
– 1/2 cup of blueberries
– 1/2 tsp cinnamon
– 1/4 cup of dark chocolate (70% cacao+) melted down
– Rainbow sprinkles (confetti effect)
– Non-dairy whip cream (optional)

Crêpes with a funfetti soul

Enjoy a fun new breakfast tradition. For a healthier sweet crepe version, you can tweak and adjust the toppings.  Enjoy and bon appétit!

Instant Pot sous vide egg bites (breakfast with love)

Healthy-ish sous vide eggfast

When I consider healthy alternatives to regular egg dishes, I think of poaching and boiling eggs. Sous vide opens up more options. This recipe makes 7 servings, perfect for a weekend brunch. You can even save and reheat the next day.

What is sous vide?

Sous vide has become popularized in the culinary world. A French term, it literally translates to “under vacuum”, and it applies to a method of cooking in which food is sealed in an airtight plastic pouch or a glass jar, and cooked in a bath of hot water or steam environment for a long cooking time (i.e. 1 to 7 hours+). The temperature is regulated during the entire duration of the cooking process. 

[Optional] appliances that make it easy-peasy

You can find best-selling appliances online like the ChefSteps Joule (list price: $199) or the Anova Culinary Precision Cooker (list price: $149). These nifty gadgets create the right temperature control by heating up the water in a pot. You can monitor the process through an app on your smartphone. The art of sous vide means there is absolutely zero contact with flames or smoke. What’s great about this French method of cooking is that you forego the need for unnecessary oils and butter. 

But, all you need is an Instant Pot

The beauty of the Instant Pot Egg Bites is that you enjoy the sous vide execution without other appliances. I used the 6 Qt Instant Pot. It’s very simple to make, and you can add your own creative flare.

In my case, I used heart-shaped silicone egg bite molds, which you can buy on Amazon. An alternative heart version can be found here. I also have a set of adorable food punch-out cutters, which I use to dress up kid lunches, and weekend brunch. 🙂

Heart-shaped (IP) recipe – made with LOVE

So, let’s get started with making the recipe. Nothing says I love you like a beautiful heart-shaped breakfast. The family and kids love it. You can accompany your eggfast with an expresso, English Breakfast tea, or a bubbly mimosa.

Get the Instant Pot ready
Pour (1) cup of water into the bottom of the pot, and place a metal (or silicone) trivet on the bottom (as you don’t want the egg mold sitting in the water).

Prep strawberries and punch out hearts
Take a carton full of ripe strawberries. Rinse them, remove the stems and then halve the strawberries. Then use the heart-shaped fruit cutter and punch out hearts. Set it aside.

Prep the egg dish ingredients
You’ll need five large brown eggs and a large mixing bowl. Prep your diced ham and/or pre-cooked breakfast sausage, diced tomatoes, and shredded cheese. You can sprinkle some wonderful Herbs de Provence in keeping with the French origin of sous vide.

I used diced rosemary ham and a turkey sausage patty. If you’re vegetarian, you can sub with vegan breakfast sausage or do without it. Same goes for cheese if you’re lactose sensitive, opt for a non-dairy version like Daiya mozzarella style shreds.

You’ll also want to add 1/4 cup of milk. I used almond milk, but you can use a milk of your choice.

Five large brown eggs

Prep diced tomatoes, ham, pre-cooked breakfast sausage, and shredded cheese

In the mixing bowl, blend or stir all the ingredients together (eggs, cheese, ham, sausage, tomatoes, milk, and herbs). If using a blender, you can pulse for about half a minute.

Blend all the ingredients in the egg mixture

Pour the egg mixture into the molds
You can lightly grease the molds with olive oil spray. There are seven reservoirs, so pour the egg mixture into each all the way to the top. The carefully place the mold tray onto the trivet resting in the Instant Pot. You’ll want to keep your hands steady for this part.

Pour egg mixture into the molds

Pressure cook on high for 8 minutes
Close the top of the Instant Pot lid and turn dial to sealing position. Turn on the manual setting at high pressure for 8 minutes. You can let the steam release naturally.

Voilà! Your egg bites are perfectly cooked.

For presentation purposes, I take a plate and cover it with paper towels and carefully flip the egg bites out of the molds. The paper towels removes the excess moisture.

Toast some bread
Eggs and toast go well together. You can toast some bread and lay it out on a toasting rack. Your company can butter and jam their toast to their liking.

Heart-shaped presentation
For presentation, use a nice wooden board and cover it with a sheet of parchment paper. Arrange the egg bites on the board with some gaps, so you can add the heart-shaped strawberries.

Breakfast with L-O-V-E

Ingredients

– 5 large brown eggs
– 1/4 cup almond milk
– 1/3 cup diced tomatoes
– 1/4 cup shredded cheese (mozzarella and cheddar)
– 2 slices of ham or turkey (diced)
– 1 savory breakfast sausage patty (diced)
– 1/2 tsp herbs de provence

– Olive oil spray (grease the mold tray)
– 1 cup water

– 1 carton of ripe strawberries

– Several slices of toast

Things used
– Instant Pot pressure cooker
– Trivet (goes inside Instant Pot)
– Silicone egg mold tray
– Fruit/veggie shape cutter (heart)

Hope you enjoy the sous vide eggs. Lots of love went into this dish. 😉

Goat Cheese on Toast. Recipe x Five Ways

Chèvre 

If you haven’t had chèvre, you’re missing out. Chèvre is the French word for goat, and it’s the spreadable kind of tart cheese that tastes wonderful on toasted bread, baguette or bagel. Drizzle a little honey over it, and now we’re talking.

The versatile goat cheese can be eaten for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or as an hors d’oeuvres. It’s a great alternative to cream cheese if you want to add a bit more earthy depth to your morning bagel.

A little goat story

Since I always like to understand what I’m eating, I researched this French staple. The artisanal cheese making process has been around for thousands of years. France is the #1 producer of (pure) goat cheese with over 3,000 goat cheese producers.

Happy goat grazing and not minding a pat on the back

Did you know goats produce cheese 7-8 months in a year? This is different from cows, which can be milked year-round. Goat’s milk is therefore in season during the months of March through July. Goat cheese has a short aging process of a few days to a few weeks.

If aged for a few days to one-week, the milky goat cheese is similar in character to that of cream cheese. If the cheese is aged 2 weeks or longer, then you’ve unlocked a more intense taste with a crumbly texture and a yellower color. You’ll often find chèvre in a cylindrical form.

The process of making chèvre involves the coagulation of milk, solid cheese curds are drained through a cloth, the curds are poured into molds, later drained and dried, salted, and then left at a controlled temperature to age the cheese.

Cheese that doesn’t quite melt

An interesting fact. Chèvre will go soft, but it will not completely melt when heated. This is something you may notice when making flat bread pizza with goat cheese.

Better for lactose sensitivities

Goat cheese is easier to digest. Goat’s milk is lower in lactose compared to cow’s milk, and more importantly goat’s milk is naturally homogenized and has smaller fat globules vs. cow’s milk. This aids in easier digestion, especially if you have some sensitivity to lactose.

Fancy up Breakfast or Brunch

You can buy classic chèvre at most any grocery store, and you’ll find different variations of goat cheese like the offerings from Vermont Creamery, ranging from honey, blueberry lemon thyme, and pepper jelly to herb de provence, peppercorn, and cranberry orange cinnamon.

If you want to make a gorgeous little meal, it takes no time at all. You can accompany your cheese on toast with a mixed green salad. For brunch or lunch, pair it with a glass of sparkling wine or rosé.

Note: For gluten sensitivities, I highly recommend Vermont-based Against the Grain baguette, or the more readily available Udi’s Delicious Soft sliced bread.

Toast with cheese and raw honey
Spread goat cheese on toast, and take a tablespoon of raw honey and drizzle over the top.

Toast with tomatoes and fresh basil
Take sliced artisanal bread and toast. Spread a generous layer of goat cheese and layer on slices of tomato and chopped fresh basil.

Toast with fresh fruit
Chop up fresh fruit from your local farmer’s market. Layer on the goat cheese and top it all off with berries and tart apples.

Earthy beets and orange segments on goat cheese smeared toast at The Press Cafe

Toast with beets and oranges
Earthy beets and citrus orange segments pair well together when layered over goat cheese on toast.

Smashed avocado and cheese
Take a ripe avocado, and smash it up with a fork. Spread it first on the toast and then crumble some goat cheese over the top. Toss a handful of red pepper flakes, crack some sea salt, and drizzle extra virgin olive oil.

If you have other chèvre toast making suggestions, please share in comments.
Bon appétit!

Instant Pot: GF Berry-Apple Bread Pudding Recipe

Low-glycemic dessert for breakfast

I have a sweet tooth, but I try to find ways to make healthy-ish versions of my favorite desserts. Nothing is more comforting than a warm, gooey bread pudding. I’ve come up with my own version that’s gluten-free, dairy-free, low GI, and something you can whip up easily. All you need is an Instant Pot and 30 minutes from prep to plate.

*Spoiler Alert: No heavy cream (or dairy) was used in the following recipe. Taste was not compromised.*

Bits of Bread Pudding History

Bread pudding is said to date back as far as the 11th century. A humble dish, it was designed out of necessity so leftover bread would not go to waste. In the 13th century in England, bread pudding was described as “poor man’s pudding.”

Bread pudding is typically made with leftover bread, and baked with a mixture of milk, cream, eggs, butter and/or oil, and includes other add-ins. It can be made as either a savory or sweet dish. Though most of us think of bread pudding as a sweet dish, served in restaurants or made at home.

Many countries have a version of the bread pudding, so you’ll find variations in Europe, Latin America, Asia, and in the US.

Bread pudding in an Instant Pot

I figured why not? I thought about the ingredients that go into a French toast, and not much different! I use the duo 6-in-1 Instant Pot, and have re-created a healthy-ish version. This recipe will serve 4-5 people. 

Get Your Instant Pot and steam rack ready
Pour 2 cups of water into the Instant Pot, and place a steam rack on top. (I ended up getting the silicone steam rack as part of a set on Amazon, which comes with a pan).

Grease the bottom of a 7- or 8-inch pan that will fit in your Instant Pot. Spray a little Coconut Oil to coat the bottom of the pan to ensure the bread pudding won’t stick.

Wash and prep your fruit
Fruit comes with natural sweetness and a load of nutrients, fiber, and antioxidants. That’s reason enough to make them a centerpiece in this recipe. I used two medium apples and a bowl of berries (blueberries and blackberries).

2 medium apples, blueberries and blackberries

For apples, I used Pink Lady and Gala. Wash and remove the skins. Core and slice the apples into cubes, then set aside. With the berries, simply wash and set aside.

Cut bread into cubes
You can chop up leftover bread. I use 4-5 slices of Udi’s Delicious White Bread (large version). Set aside the cubed bread.

Gluten-free bread cut into cubes

Whisk the liquids together
In a large bowl, crack 3 large eggs, 1/4 cup of raw coconut nectar, 1/3 cup of almond milk, 1 tsp of Vanilla extract, and 1 tsp of Cinnamon.

Side note: I like Big Tree Farms Organic Amber Coconut Nectar, which I covered in an earlier post on GF pancakes. Made from the sap of coconut tree flowers, coconut nectar contains essential amino acids, and is low glycemic, so you don’t have the effects of blood sugar spikes.

Mix everything together in a big bowl
Take your cubes of apple and berries and toss into your liquid mixture. Then toss in the bread cubes and gently mix until the bread is coated.

Pour the mixture into the baking pan
Take your greased baking pan and pour the entire mixture into it. Press down into the pan to make sure everything is generally even. Drizzle the top with 2 tbsp of maple syrup.

Pressure cook for 15 minutes
Place the baking dish on top of the steamer rack inside the Instant Pot. Close the top of the Instant Pot lid and turn dial to sealing position. Turn on the manual setting at high pressure for 15 minutes.

Sit the baking pan onto the steamer rack inside the Instant Pot

Voila! It’s done
You can let the steam out via natural release if you have the time. Or if you don’t, put on a silicone mitt and vent the top.

Gluten-free bread pudding perfect for breakfast or dessert

Serves 4-5 people

Ingredients

– 2 cups of water
– 1 tsp coconut oil (or olive oil). Or use spray
– 3 large eggs
– 1/4 cup unrefined raw coconut nectar (substitute is maple syrup)
– 2 tbsp of maple syrup
– 1/3 cup of almond milk
– 1 tsp of cinnamon
– 2 medium apples
– 1 to 1 1/2 cup of berries (blackberries and blueberries)
– 4 cups of bread, cut into cubes (or 4-5 slices of GF bread)
– Whipped cream (optional)

Serve up in a shallow bowl
You can use a pie server to cut and place a generous wedge of bread pudding in a shallow bowl. You can add a dollop of whipped cream, like I did, to give it a bit of umpf. Whole Foods and other health food stores sell traditional whipped cream and non-dairy alternatives like So Delicious Dairy Free Coco Whip.

Make your GF bread pudding special with a dollop of whipped cream. Yum!

Enjoy spending time with your loved ones, and treat yourself with this version of bread pudding for breakfast, brunch or dessert. Bon appétit!

What’s your favorite healthy-ish dessert made for breakfast? Feel free to comment. 

English Comfort: Boiled Eggs & Soldiers

Healthy-ish Breakfast Comfort Food

Earlier in the week, my hubs and I lamented over England’s loss to Croatia in the World Cup semi-final. Instead of drowning our sorrows in the decidedly unhealthy chip butty (sandwich stuffed with fries), we opted for a healthy-ish British comfort food — boiled eggs and soldiers.

The important part is getting the boiled eggs just right so that you end up with gooey, runny yolk perfect for dipping soldiers (sliced toasts). As I typically boil 6 eggs (2 per person), the boiling time of large brown eggs clocks in at 6 minutes. If the eggs are left too long in the boiling water, they go hard. It’s best to be precise in timing your boiled eggs to get dippy yolk.

In scouring recipes online, I’ve seen a range of 5-7 minutes for boiling time depending on the number and size of eggs. Trial and error may be a factor in getting the eggs the way you want them.

Alternative to boiling eggs in a saucepan

One of the genius inventions that has helped us perfect the boiled egg is an Amazon best seller called the Dash Rapid Egg Cooker, which is currently available for $19.99 ($29.99 list price).

Behold the 6-egg capacity egg cooker

I had gifted it to my hubs as a Christmas gift (more for a laugh), but it’s gotten plenty of use. Boiled eggs and soldiers has become a staple weekend dish. And, it takes 10 minutes to make from prep to finish.

Really Short History 

Always curious about the origins of food, I inquired about the history of boiled eggs and soldiers, only to find that it has a short story. The mentions of “eggs with soldiers” only dates back to the flower power loving ’60s.

The dish may have become dishy during a series of 1965 TV commercials promoting eggs, starring British comedian Tony Hancock. Nicolas Freeling’s novel The Dresden Green published in 1966 mentioned “toast soldiers” used for dipping in soup.

While the history of boiled eggs and soldiers is short and somewhat ambiguous, the dish is fit for a Queen.

Eggs are Nutrient Rich

Eggs are a great source of protein, as well as selenium, vitamin D,B6,  B12, and minerals zinc, iron and copper. Eggs are also known for containing key nutrients such as betaine and choline, which is important for nursing and pregnant women, and essential for brain health. Since you’re boiling (and not frying up eggs in unnecessary oil or butter), you’ve got a heart healthy version of eggs.

Here shown with dry toast (sans butter)

Brekkie fit for a royal

Ready to eat like a healthy-ish royal? You’ll need 6 large brown eggs (all about equal in size). It’s best to use eggs at room temperature. So, if you’ve taken the eggs out of the fridge, let them sit on the counter for 30 minutes.

If you use an appliance like the Dash Rapid Egg Cooker, just follow the instructions and it will give you perfect dippy eggs.

Boil water in a saucepan  (old school way)
If you don’t have a nifty egg cooker, then simply fill a saucepan with water (enough to completely submerge the eggs) and first bring the water to a boil.

Gently place eggs in boiling water
Then, carefully place the 6 refrigerated eggs into the boiling water using a ladle. Time it for approximately 6 minutes.

Toast and slice the bread
While the eggs are boiling, lightly butter the 6 slices of bread with some nice Kerrygold Irish butter. Then pop the slices of bread into the toaster (higher setting for crunchy soldiers). Each person gets two eggs and two toasts (sliced).

Once the toast is done, place on a cutting board and cut into even slices. Plate them up, along with the empty egg cups and teaspoon (or egg spoon). Crack some fresh black pepper over the toast soldiers.

Time’s up! Remove eggs
Don’t let the eggs linger in hot water. Once the timer goes off, immediately lift the eggs and place them each in an egg cup.

Crack and remove the egg shell pieces
Tap your egg spoon (or teaspoon) on the top of the egg and remove the shell pieces. Then spoon off the top of the egg and take that first bite.

Ingredients

Egg cups (to hold the eggs).
6 large brown eggs (equal in size)
6 slices of bread (gluten-free optional, Udi’s Delicious bread)
Irish butter (Kerrygold spreadable kind)
Cracked pepper
Salt to taste (optional)

With the runny egg yolk exposed, start dipping away with your toast soldier. Enjoy feeling regal and eating a healthy-ish breakfast of protein-rich eggs accompanied by gluten-free soldiers.