Beet-Buckwheat Crêpes in a Puddle

Embrace mid-summer with delicious beet-buckwheat crêpes. These are filled with asparagus, French radishes, and petite peas bathed in a creamy plant-based béchamel, served atop a parsley-sweet pea puddle. Celebrate the season with a splendid brunch or elegant dinner. Vegan. Oil-free. Gluten-free. High fiber.

Makes six 7” crêpes Prep time 80 minutes

Cooking time 20 minutes

1 bunch asparagus, blanched

1 cup petit peas, blanched if fresh, defrosted if frozen

1 bunch radishes, cut in wedges, blanched

Microgreens, as garnish

White Sauce

2 tablespoons arrowroot

½ teaspoons shiro (light) miso paste

Pinch of white pepper

½ teaspoon granulated garlic

½ teaspoon granulated onion

2 tablespoons nutritional yeast

1 cup unsweetened almond milk

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

Parsley-Pea Puddle

1 cup parsley leaves, stems removed, packed tightly

¼ cup petit peas, blanched if fresh, defrosted if frozen

Cloves from 1 head garlic, dry roasted, peeled

⅛ cup shelled walnuts (optional)

⅛ cup nutritional yeast

½ cup water

Pinch of ground white pepper

Crêpe Batter

1 ½ cups buckwheat flour

2 cups beet purée from 3-4 red or gold beets, peeled, steamed, puréed

½ cup unsweetened almond milk

½ cup water

1 tablespoon nutritional yeast

1 tablespoon freshly ground golden flaxseed

½ teaspoon granulated onion

½ teaspoon granulated garlic

½ teaspoon shiro (light) miso pate

1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Pinch of ground white pepper

o Blanch the vegetables: Submerse each variety separately in boiling water for 1 minute (taste for doneness). Remove and submerse immediately in an ice bath. Remove. Set aside. Blanching gives your vegetables intense color while tenderizing them to perfection.

o Prepare white sauce: Combine all dry ingredients in a blender, and pulse. Add almond milk, blend for a minute or until very smooth. Transfer to a small saucepan, heat over medium flame, whisking. The sauce will soon begin to thicken. Continue whisking until the consistency is like clotted cream or yogurt, thickened but spreadable. Taste and correct seasonings, if needed. Remove from heat. The sauce may continue to thicken as it cools. You can thin with almond milk, if need be.

o Prepare parsley-pea puddle: To roast garlic head, peel off loose outer skins and roast at 375°F/190”C for 30 minutes. Cool and peel cloves. Combine all puddle ingredients in a high-speed blender. Taste and correct seasonings, if needed.

o Prepare the batter: Peel, slice, steam beets until tender. Combine all batter ingredients in a high-speed blender, and blend. for a minute, scraping down sides of the container. Taste and correct seasonings, if needed.

o Make the crêpes: Heat a good quality nonstick skillet over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add ½ cup of batter in the center of the pan, tipping and swirling the pan to spread the batter in as wide a circle as possible. Cover for 1 minute. Remove cover for 1 minute. Ease a nonmetallic flat spatula under the edges around the crêpe to loosen it. Flip and cook for another minute. Remove to a woven straw mat to cool. Repeat until all crêpes are cooked.

o Plate the crêpe: As you’re waiting for each crêpe to cook you can begin to fill them: Add a ladleful of parsley-sweet pea sauce to the center of the plate and spread with the back of the ladle. On a cutting board place a crêpe, spread the white sauce on top, arrange asparagus spears, radish wedges and peas in the center, roll up. Transfer to the sauced plate. Cover and warm in a low oven until serving.

Garnish with a few sprigs of microgreens.