Green Irish Blender Oat Crepes

I love this twist on a traditional crêpe, using oat flour which gives a nice homey texture and spirulina which provides a beautiful umami flavor that is slightly salty,  slightly briny and lends a gorgeous emerald hue.   This reminds me so much of Ireland and it's emerald green pastures that go on as far as the eye can see, butting right up the the ocean.
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I fill these crepes with good Irish cheddar cheese that gets nice and melty and while you could compliment the cheese by adding small cubes of salty ham, I opted for bit of chicken sausage and some tender baby spinach leaves just to be consistent with the green theme.

I've had crepes in Paris under the Eiffel Tower which was definitely a bucket list item, and look for them when traveling as they're such a treat whether sweet or savory.   We're fortunate enough to even have a wonderful creperie in our small town owned and operated by a French couple. Magnifique!!

I do love crepes of all kinds, but especially those with some additional nutritional benefits like buckwheat crepes (also gluten free) or these oat flour crepes which have a wonderful texture.

Oat Flour - oat flour is readily available and happens to be gluten free. If you are particularly sensitive to gluten make sure you also look for packaging that indicates specifically that it is gluten-free, meaning that it will not be processed in a facility where flour/gluten may be present.

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While I say it is readily available, this particular day it was not available in my pantry so I had to improvise and make my own oat flour which is actually very easy if you have a food processor or a good blender.

Simply add oats to the food processor and blitz away until they are very fine and resemble flour. Voilà! Oat flour.

Spirulina – Spirulina is a powder derived from algae that is nutrient dense and has a slightly briny flavor.  We use it in our smoothies for it's nutritional boost, but I also love to use it as a natural food coloring.  You can certainly leave it out of the recipe, but I love the vibrant color of the crepes and also that wonderful umami flavor that elevates these crepes.

ALL BLENDED & READY FOR MY SKILLET

Making these in a blender is so quick and foolproof. Simply add the ingredients, blitz and pour into your waiting skillet.

JUST ABOUT SET

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Feed these to your family or friends. Heck, try them for yourself. Even kids love these as when it comes down to it, they're a pancake, and who doesn't love pancakes? 

A good nonstick skillet is imperative for making crepes.  I love my T-Fal skillets.


Ninja has a great line of products, of which I have several.  This blender is one of my favorites & I use it daily for my smoothie.

Green Irish Blender Oat Crepes
Makes 4 crepes


1 large egg
1/2 cup milk (I use coconut milk)
1/2 cup oat flour (see cook's note)
1 tablespoon melted butter (unsalted) (plus 1 tablespoon for buttering the skilet)
1 teaspoon spirulina (optional)
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon olive oil (for cooking crepe)


Fillings
1 cup baby spinach
1 cup Irish cheddar cheese, grated
1/2 cup diced cooked ham, or cooked chicken sausage (which is what I used)




In a blender combine the egg, milk,  oat flour,  butter,  spirulina and salt and blend until very well combined.  If time allows, the batter is best refridgerated for about 30 minutes (to overnight) before using)


Coat a medium nonstick skillet with a bit of the butter and olive oil and bring to medium heat. Pour out 1/4 cup of the batter into the preheated skillet swirling the batter so it reaches the edges. Let's cook until the crepe is set.  You can flip, or if the crepe is cooked through simply slide out while you prepare the remaining crepes, adding a bit of the butter and olive oil between each crepe *.  You can cover the crepes and keep warm in a low oven, or if using immediately, covering with a clean kitchen towel should suffice.

* I love to use the butter and olive oil combo as the butter browns the crepe nicely and gives good flavor, while the olive oil keeps the butter from becoming too brown.


On the lower third of each warm crepe, add the cheese, spinach and ham.  Fold the tp over the bottom, or roll up and serve.  If you want to heat them a little further to get the cheese to melt, you can return them covered to the warm oven, but I find they're quite tasty eaten immediately.


Garnish with a little additional cheese if desired.


Cook's Note - oat flour is easy enough to make if you happen to not have it on hand but do you have oats. Don't use instant oats. Simply put your oats in a food processor or powerful blender and blitz until you have a fine powder that resembles flour.