Autumn Crepes with Roasted Beets, Carrots and Aioli

There is an area restaurant which specializes in crepes stuffed with just about everything from chicken to nutella. Over the years I have had many of their delightful creations, some of which I have recreated at home. A couple of weeks ago I paid them a visit and ordered one of their specials, an apple beet crepe, given that both are in season right now. I suspect it would have been delicious, but they boiled all the flavor out of the beets, which were in too high of a proportion, so it didn't quite hit the spot their crepes usually do. Obviously then the solution was to make my own beet crepes. I have not yet acquired my seasonal apples so I used another of their dishes as inspiration for this recipe. Ironically, they serve this as a salad, not as a crepe. This is a great recipe for a weekend brunch, particularly if you want to impress guests: it is very colorful in addition to being very tasty.

See? Gorgeous.

Ingredients: (makes 2 large crepes)
For the filling:
2 medium beets, washed, peeled, quartered and sliced
2 medium carrots, washed, peeled and sliced
blob olive oil
salt and pepper
handful baby lettuce

For the crepe batter:
1 egg
3/4 cup milk
2/3 cup flour
pinch salt
2 scallions, sliced

For the aioli:
1/4 cup mayonnaise (or substitute half Greek yogurt)
2 tsp lemon juice
1 TBS chopped dill

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425F. Blob your olive oil on a baking sheet, dump your beets and carrots on top and toss to coat. Distribute into a single layer, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and roast 15-20 minutes, turning over about halfway through. The time will depend on how small/thin you cut your veggies.

While the veggies are roasting, whisk together your crepe batter: the egg and milk first, then add flour and salt. The consistency should be very thin, much thinner than most pancake batter. If it seems too thick, add more milk or water to thin it out a bit. Different types of milk (dairy and dairy free) tend to leave different thicknesses, so you may need to adjust based on this. Stir in the scallions.

Heat an 8" or 9" pan over medium-low heat and give it a spritz of cooking spray. Dump about 1/3-1/2 cup batter into the middle of the pan and swirl the pan to distribute the batter evenly across it. Cook until the edges are dry and pulling up from the side, about 2 minutes. Flip and cook the other side for a minute. Repeat with remaining batter.

Mix up your aioli ingredients. When everything has cooked, place a small handful of lettuce on each of two crepes. Divide up the beets and carrots and place on top of the lettuce, spoon some aioli over the veggies, and place a second crepe over the top. Roll the crepe, tucking the ends as you roll. (Hopefully you are better at this than I am.) Cut in half if you like.