The Great Lent is the time to prepare for the Resurrection of Christ - Easter. Many Christians give up something (mainly meat and dairy products) during the Lent in order to focus more on nourishing our soul. But as human beings, we consume food to survive. Nun Natalia shares with us this dairy and egg free crêpes recipe that can be used during the lenten season. These crêpes are light and airy, besides that, they are very easy to bake.
We invite you to enjoy the Great Lent period with the following lenten crêpes with mashed potatoes recipe.
For Lenten crêpes we will need:
Filling:
In a large bowl whisk together salt, sugar a little bit of oil and sparkling water. Then add sifted flour alternatively with carbonated water in approximately 3 additions mixing everything with a hand mixer.
For the filling boil potatoes and make mashed potatoes. Sauté the finely chopped onion and add to the mashed potatoes.
Cook crêpes until the top looks almost dry (about 1-2 minutes). Flip the crêpe and continue to cook for about 15-30 seconds. Put the filling into the ready crêpes. Brush the top of the ready crêpes with the filling with oil.
Eggs serve several purposes in baking. Without them, baked goods may be dry, flat and flavorless. But as we know dairy products are excluded during the lenten period. Many people during fasting think: no eggs for pancakes what can I use? Fortunately, there are a lot of egg alternatives and you don’t need eggs to make delicious crepes with onions.
1. Carbonated Water
In our recipe we use carbonated water. It acts as a great leavening agent and it makes a good egg replacement in products that are meant to be light and fluffy. This substitution is good for lenten pancakes and cakes.
2. Nut butter or seed butter (peanut, almond, or sunflower).
Any type of nut butter is a good egg substitute for pancakes/crêpes! If you have nut allergies, you can use seed butter, for example sunflower butter. Nut butter works as a binder to stick the batter together, and it adds richness to the flavor.
3. Vinegar and Baking Soda
Mixing 1 teaspoon of baking soda with 1 tablespoon of vinegar can replace one egg in most recipes. When mixed together, vinegar and baking soda start a chemical reaction that produces carbon dioxide and water, which makes baked goods light and airy. This combination is good for lenten pancake recipes.
4. Mashed Banana
You can use mashed banana or other fruits like avocado to replace eggs. The only downside to baking with bananas is that your finished product may have a mild banana flavor.