May 21, 2011: Cheesy Spinach-Stuffed Crepes

long hateful solar daytime shopping.  This wasn't but a novel recipe - it involved crepes.

I'm non certain that I've e'er fifty-fifty attempted crepes earlier but frying'n'flipping is the bog-standard cooking technique that challenges me the most. Burgers, fritters, (soy bombs!), pancakes, omelettes, dosai (shudder)... cooking them through in addition to getting them to the plate inwards 1 slice is oft to a greater extent than than me in addition to my spatula tin dismiss handle.  Crepes would sure enough rank 2nd behind dosai inwards delicacy, in addition to mayhap deliciousness too.

Foolishly I forged ahead, in addition to inexplicably I was rewarded amongst crepe subsequently slim golden crepe.  I used but a footling stone oil spray inwards a hot non-stick pan, gently spreading the batter amongst the dorsum of a spoon to a conservative diameter of well-nigh 15cm.  They were beautiful.

This was but the start, though.  I blended together a filling of spinach in addition to ricotta in addition to rolled it into the crepes...

... thence covered the lot amongst a white sauce, breadstuff crumbs in addition to cheese.

Once out of the oven, it was the perfect wintertime dish - warming in addition to cheesy, a footling gooey but non also sloppy (as I feared it mightiness endure amongst all that white sauce).  I mean value some ready-made cannelloni tubes would do but every bit good - in addition to endure far to a greater extent than convenient - inwards this dish, but I actually am glad that it prodded me to examine my paw at crepes.  I didn't know I had 'em inwards me.

Cheesy spinach-stuffed crepes

crepe batter
1/2 loving cup wholemeal flour
1/2 loving cup patently flour
iii eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/4 cups milk
15g butter, melted
spray stone oil for frying

filling
30g butter
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 bunch spinach, chopped
250g ricotta
1/4 loving cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon dry reason cumin

sauce
30g butter
2 tablespoons wholemeal flour
1 1/4 cups skim milk

1 loving cup stale wholemeal breadcrumbs
1/4 loving cup grated parmesan cheese

Start past times making the crepes. Sift together the flours into a medium-large bowl. In a dissever bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk in addition to melted butter.  Gradually pour the liquid over the flours, whisking every bit y'all go, until it makes a smoothen batter. Cover the bowl in addition to allow the batter to correspond at to the lowest degree thirty minutes.

Heat upwardly a fry-pan in addition to give it a lite spraying of oil.  Pour a 1/4 loving cup of crepe batter into the centre of the pan, using the dorsum of a spoon to gently spread it out into a circle of but a span of millimetres thickness. When the crepe's visibly dried out or thence the edges, carefully flip it over.  After roughly some other infinitesimal it should endure cooked; transfer the crepe to a plate in addition to repeat the procedure amongst the remainder of the batter.

Next, laid upwardly the filling.  Melt the butter inwards the fry-pan in addition to sauté the garlic in addition to spinach until the spinach has wilted - this volition entirely accept a few minutes.  Take them off the oestrus in addition to allow them to cool a footling earlier placing them inwards a nutrient processor.  Add the ricotta, parmesan in addition to cumin to the processor in addition to whiz everything together until it's nicely combined.

This is in all probability a practiced fourth dimension to outset preheating the oven - 180°C. Then teach rolling! Place but a tablespoon or 2 of filling along the centre of each crepe, gyre them upwardly in addition to house them inwards a baking dish.

In a small-medium saucepan (I used the same 1 that I melted the crepe batter butter in), brand the sauce. Start past times melting the butter, thence mix inwards the flour to brand a smoothen paste. After it's been cooking a minute, gradually whisk inwards the milk, doing your best to avoid lumps (I added the milk inwards really pocket-sized batches to commence with). Bring the sauce to the boil and, in 1 trial it's thickened, accept it off the oestrus in addition to pour it over the crepes.

Combine the remaining breadcrumbs in addition to parmesan, thence sprinkle them over the sauce-slathered crepes.  Bake them for well-nigh thirty minutes, or until the piece of job past times is crisp in addition to golden.