There are many misperceptions about pulses out there. One, that they don’t have any place outside the soup or hummus bowl. Or two, that because of their availability/affordability at the bulk food bins, you won’t find pulses or pulse products in fine culinary cuisine. Or three, that preparing a dish with pulse products requires overnight prep and hours of cook time. In one recipe, Chef Lars Kronmark (meet him here), a chef-instructor at The Culinary Institute of America (CIA), shatters all three of those misperceptions.
Pro Pulse Tip from Lars: Don’t be afraid to use pulses in new shapes and new ways. In my courses at The CIA, I use pulses everywhere from soups to sauces, to lentils as a crepe filling ingredient or pulse flours making up the crepe itself. There is a great texture element in pulses, and they can carry or complement the flavors of almost any dish – making them one of my favorite ingredients to experiment with.
Napa Chard and Herbed Crepes with Goat Cheese and Confit of Olives and Peppers
Makes: 16 Crepes (2 oz. ea.)
Serves 6-8
Ingredients
Crepes:
6 Eggs
1 1/3 cup milk
1 ½ cup water
2 cups pea and lentil flour
4 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
Filling/Topping:
3 tbsp. chopped herbs (chives, parsley, tarragon, etc.), OR fresh Swiss chard, fine cut
1 tsp. garlic, minced
4 oz. goat cheese
2 roasted red peppers, diced
2 oz. minced small olives
3 oz. extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Procedure
Combine crepe ingredients in a blender and blend for about 45 seconds (scraping down sides of blender with a spatula or spoon). Let rest for 15 minutes. Lightly oil a very hot non-stick pan or crepe pan and swirl 2 ounces of batter around pan to distribute. Cook for about 10-15 seconds, then carefully flip crepe over and cook for another 5 seconds or so. Stack crepes onto a plate and set aside.
Spread room temperature goat cheese onto crepes, sprinkle with herbs and roll or fold.
Heat extra virgin olive oil with roasted peppers for 2-3 min. Add olives and season with salt and pepper.
Top crepes with pepper and olive confit and serve. Take care when plating, as crepes will be very tender.
Photo sourced from here.
