This dish originates from Emilia-Romagna and is served in restaurants throughout the area. Mario Matassa brings us a recipe for these tasty crêpes
When choosing a dish for the all-important pasta course, the pasta you choose depends on where you are from.
Stuffed pasta cooked in a golden capon broth has come to be regarded as a national dish for special occasions, but it can be time-consuming as both the pasta and broth need to be prepared in advance.
An excellent alternative I have found is crespelle. This dish originated from the Emilia-Romagna region and is served in restaurants throughout the area.
Now, strictly speaking, crespelle are not pasta – at least not in the traditional sense – but you would be hard pushed trying to convince any of my neighbours of the finer nuances to the argument.
The filling is flexible. On this occasion I have used red radicchio – because it somehow seems fittingly festive – but you could also use spinach, mushrooms or ham. Whatever the main ingredient you choose to stuff your crespelle, the key is to stick to the same proportions of Parmesan and ricotta.
Crespelle ripiene is a fantastic dish that takes the work out of the kitchen on the day itself as it can be prepared up to a day in advance and stored in the fridge.
Filled Crêpes | Crespelle Ripiene
➤ SERVES: 4-6
➤ PREPARATION: 20 minutes, plus time to rest
➤ COOKING: 30-35 minutes
Ingredients:
For the crêpes
- 100g plain flour
- Small pinch of salt
- 2 free-range eggs
- 250ml milk
- 1 tbsp olive oil
For the filling and topping
- 200g red radicchio, finely sliced
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 70g Parmesan, grated
- 250g ricotta cheese
- 25g shelled walnuts, chopped
- 25g unsalted butter
Instructions:
- To make the crêpes, mix the flour and salt in a bowl. In a separate bowl, mix the eggs, milk and oil, then add these to the flour a little at a time, whisking well. Leave to rest for 20 minutes.
- Gently fry the radicchio in a frying pan with a little oil until tender. Leave to cool while you preheat the oven to 180˚C/Gas Mark 4.
- Meanwhile, make the crêpes by pouring a small ladleful of batter into a greased frying pan and cooking on each side. Continue until you have used up all the crêpe batter.
- Mix the fried radicchio with 50g Parmesan, all the ricotta and 20g walnuts. Place a tablespoon of the filling in the middle of one half of each crêpe, gently flatten with a spoon, then fold the crêpe in half. Do the same for all the crêpes.
- Arrange the crêpes in a buttered oven dish. Sprinkle over the remaining Parmesan and walnuts, and top with the remaining butter. Cover with foil and bake in the oven for 15 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for a further 10 minutes, until golden.
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Words and recipe by Mario Matassa