AMARANTH- ORANGE GLUTEN-FREE CRAPES

   Crapes are one of my favorite things for breakfast and one of the first I had to give up after going on gluten-free diet and I though I'd never have them again. Crapes are one of those things that you cannot just whip up- it requires the right day,time, mood, and most of all patients. And even if you have the crape-making skill dawn to a science, sometimes they just won't come up right. There is even a saying that  making a first crape is like having a first child-you just experiment with it till you get the art of making it right. Then it gets easier with every next one.

        But to the point of gluten-free crapes-making a crape is hard enough gluten or no gluten, and this is even a more daunting task-the thing about crape batter is that it has to be fine and thin and in order for a crape to stay together it needs the gluten, which acts like a glue. The non-gluten flours are crumbly, for they do not have that sticking agent. After many experiments I finally found the right flour combination for the perfect gluten-free crape. 

What you need: .non-stick stainless steel skillet

               .deep ladle for pouring the batter 
               .tablespoon in hand for spreading and evening

Pour the batter very slowly 

.paper towel on hand  
.stick of pasture butter (coconut oil can also be used)

Ingredients: 

             .1 cup Amaranth flour

             .1/4 cup arrowroot powder

             .2 eggs
             .1/2 cup coconut milk (or almond milk)
             .1 tablespoon vanilla extract 
             .2 tablespoons flax seed meal (optional, adds fiber                                        
              and texture, if you desire) 
                                       .2 tablespoons water 
                                       .pinch of sea salt
                         .1 tbls xylitol (or sweetener of choice)
                                       .zest of one orange 
                              (makes 5 crapes; double for  more)  

Rotate the skillet to get the batter evenly spread 

 Directions:

1.combine amaranth and arrowroot powder and mix well; the arrowroot is going to act as your gluten, so make sure it is evenly mixed with the flour; add the flax seed meal.

2.drop in the eggs and the coconut milk and start mixing with a fork or a hand beater. Batter has to be the consistency of eggnog-if batter is too thick it won't make smooth pliable crapes;if it is too thin-the crapes will be braking and not stay together.
Add the 2 tablespoons of water to thin it at the end,or if it gets too thin,then add some more amaranth flour.                          

3.add the vanilla,salt, xylotol,  
and the grated orange zest at the    end(make sure orange is well washed) 

This is how it should look before flipping over 

Cooking steps:

1.Fire and skillet- put skillet on the lowest possible fire -it will get hot enough for about a minute. 

2.Butter the bottom of the skillet with  butter stick; do not put too much butter or leave it too long to melt-it will start burning and smoking and burn your crapes. 

3.Pouring-get a full ladle of the batter and slowly pour it in                  the middle of the skillet. 

Fix edges and rips with a tablespoon 

4.Spreading- spread the batter swiftly before it has started to cook all the way, by lifting the skillet and rotating it, so the batter covers as much of the skillet's surface as possible. Ideally if the fire is low and the mixture is the right consistency you won't need a spoon to help it spread.    
But if something like this to the left on the picture happens, you can spread with the tablespoon to achieve a round crape.With the spoon you can also repair a broken crape by quickly adding a spoonful of the batter in the hole or rip-it will immediately seal it. 

Perfectly cooked crape 

5. Flipping- when one side of the crap is done-no more then 30-40 seconds- flip the crape,with the skillet if you are experienced to do that move, or with an wooden spatula.The cooked side should look like the picture to the right. If you wait too long it will start burning and make a tough, inflexible crape; too early-and the batter will flap all over and crape will rip. 

6.Cook the back side less then the first-30 seconds, and flip out in a plate. Butter edges with the butter stick again-this keeps them moist and soft. 

7.Continue with the rest of the batter, as you clean your skillet and spoon with the paper towel between each crape; this will keep the skillet from starting to burn on the left overs and each crape will come out as good as the previous one.If skillet gets too hot,put it aside of the fire while pouring the batter in, and then return to cook through. This will keep the crapes soft and prevent burning.

Rolled or folded, with fruit or cheese spread 

    

 Serve crapes folded or rolled with anything that you like.I prefer mine with fruits or reduced fruit jam . These ones are great with orange, since they have the orange zest zing to them already.But if you have no restrictions in your diet you can use nuts,chocolate spreads, feta cheese,cream cheese,honey,maple syrup,jam.

ENJOY!

GOOD TO THE LAST BITE!