Brazilian Tapioca Crepes with Cheese and Greens

Ingredients

• 2 cups tapioca starch (polvilho doce)
• 3/4 cup water
• 6 oz cheese, grated
• 4 cups greens such as spinach or arugula
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 yellow onion, finely diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 ripe tomatoes, diced
• 1 tbsp lime juice
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh herbs
• Salt and black pepper

Steps

1. Put the tapioca starch in a bowl and sprinkle over the water and 1/2 teaspoon salt, working it through with your fingers until the whole lot is evenly damp and crumbly, like wet sand.
2. Leave it to hydrate for 15 minutes, then push it through a coarse sieve, rubbing with your fingers, so it falls as a fine, dry powder.
3. That sieving is the entire technique. Unsieved lumps will not fuse in the pan, and the crepe tears instead of setting into a sheet.
4. Heat the oil in a skillet and cook the onion for 5 minutes, then the garlic for 30 seconds, then the greens until just wilted. Add the tomatoes off the heat with the lime juice and season.
5. Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat with no fat at all. Tapioca needs a dry pan; oil stops it fusing.
6. Scatter a thin, even layer of the sieved starch across the base, about 1/4 inch deep, and leave it for 60 to 90 seconds.
7. The granules will melt together into a solid white sheet. When the edges lift cleanly from the pan, scatter the cheese over half, fold the crepe over, and cook for 1 minute more until the cheese melts.
8. Slide it out, repeat with the rest, and serve filled with the greens mixture and the fresh herbs.

Allergen note: Contains dairy.

Use the listed quantities as a guide, adjust seasoning to taste, and cook proteins to a safe internal temperature.