garlic + rosemary socca crepes with creamy leeks and roasted tomatoes // gluten-free + vegan

Gluten-free, although it might not be a new term in the world of food, it is a new term in my kitchen. With many friends and family who have become gluten-free recently, I found myself having to come up with gluten-free meals to make at home. No biggie, right?

Well, I have found this particularly tricky since, as you may know from following my blog, I avoid dairy as much as possible mainly because of dairy allergy I discovered I had about a year ago.

Bread & cheese, two of the most wonderful and easy foods to throw together. Who doesn't love bread and cheese?

People who have to live gluten and dairy free, that's who.

I always thought to myself ... okay ... I can sacrifice most of the butter and cheese as long as you don't take my bread away from me. Please.do.not.take.my.bread.away.from.me. And thankfully, I have zero sensitivity to gluten. However, I am discovering more and more that friends, and friends of friends, and family are having trouble with the gluten. So, you know what that means. Dinners and dinner parties around here are including less and less gluten. And, you know, it might not be such a bad thing.

Luckily, there are tons of great recipes and alternatives out there for doing things both gluten and dairy free.

Sometimes I just want to take a giant piece of bread and slap some soft, tangy, gooey goat cheese on top and call it a day. I had yet to find anything that really replaced that taste and gorgeous texture. I really needed to come up something that would nix that craving.

This recipe right here might be the answer.

Let me start with the "creamy" leeks. The creaminess comes from a tofu base. I know that might not sound so exciting, but hear me out. The tofu is blanched to get rid of any bean-like taste. Then a lot of other delicious seasonings are added to give it a lovely flavor. Once you throw it in with the caramelized leeks, it's heavenly.

Socca, if you're not familiar with it, is a crepe that is made with garbanzo bean flour and then baked. It is super easy to make, high in protein, and it's gluten-free.

Slap those leeks on top of the rosemary and garlic socca, place some roasted tomatoes on top, and you have one yummy, creamy, delicious, gluten-free and dairy-free snack or party-time app that everyone can eat.

garlic + rosemary socca crepes with creamy leeks and roasted tomatoes

serves
6-8 people as an appetizer

ingredients

for the socca:
1 cup of chickpea (garbanzo bean) four
1 1/4 cups of water
1/2 teaspoon of salt
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 sprig of rosemary, finely chopped
1 clove of garlic, chopped
pepper, to taste

for the "creamy" leeks:
20oz of organic (non-gmo), firm tofu, cubed
the juice of 1/2 a lemon
2-3 tablespoons of nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon of dijon mustard
2 tablspoons of olive oil
1 large clove of garlic
1 large leek, green and white parts, sliced
1 tablespoon of grapeseed (or another high-heat oil)
salt and pepper, to taste

toppings:
2 cups of cherry or grape tomatoes, whole or sliced (your choice)
grapeseed oil
salt & pepper, to taste
(optional) - chopped rosemary, red pepper flakes

directions

start by making the socca:

Pre-heat the oven to 450º, and oil two 8" or one 9x13" pan.
Place all of the ingredients into a blender. Blend until everything is combined and you have a watery batter.
Pour the batter into the pan(s).
Bake for 15 minutes, until the crepe has formed and the edges are pulling from the sides.
Remove and set aside until you are ready to assemble.

then roast the tomatoes:

Keep the oven at 450º.
Place the tomatoes on a parchment lined baking sheet. If you are not slicing the tomatoes in half, be sure to poke holes in them with a fork so they do not explode in the oven. Toss them in a little grapeseed (or another high-heat oil) and season with salt and pepper.
Cook for 15-20 minutes, until the edges of the tomatoes start to brown.
Remove, cover with some foil and set aside.

make the "creamy" leeks:

Making this while you are baking the socca and the tomatoes.
Place a small saucepan with water over high heat and bring to a boil. Add the tofu, reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook for 5 minutes. Remove the tofu from the water and pat it dry.
In a blender, add the tofu, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, mustard, olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper.
Place a cast iron skillet over medium heat, add the grapeseed oil and the leeks. Cook the leeks until they are soft (about 5-7 minutes).
Then, lower the heat a little and add the tofu mixture to the pan with the leeks. Cook and stir for 3-4 minutes, until the tofu has heated up and become creamy.

lastly, assemble the crepes:

Remove the crepes from the pan and place on a serving plate. If you used the square pan and you want circles, you can cut the crepes into the shape you like.
Then, schmere the tofu and leek mixture on top of the crepes.
Place the roasted tomatoes on top and add any of the optional seasonings.
Serve immediately, while they are still warm.

enjoy.