This is a recipe from our friend Alessandra’s grandmother Maria. On Christmas day she will be up at 5 am to start cooking for her 20 or so guests. The beauty of the crespelle, which is essentially a pancake, is that you can fill it with anything. Maria, ever the crowd pleaser, makes three different versions: one for the kids, one for the adults and one for cousin Giulia and her ‘infernal diet’. The only trouble with eating at Nonna Maria’s is that if you finish your plate, it means you want more – and within an instant your plate is refilled. If you don’t finish your plate (or the second or third) you are admonished for not liking her food.
Prep Time 30 Minutes
Serves 2
Cook Time 30 Minutes
Difficulty Easy
Ingredients
- Flour – 150g/5.3oz
- Salt - a pinch
- Milk – 300ml/10.1 fl oz
- Eggs – 2
- Butter - 40g/1.5oz
- Radicchio trevigliano – 600g/21oz - For the filling
- Gorgonzola – 150g/5.3oz
- Milk – 70ml/10.1fl oz
- Butter – 80g/2.8oz
- Parmesan cheese – 100g/3.5oz grated
- Salt and pepper to taste
Method
- Sieve the flour into a bowl, add a pinch of salt and the milk. Energetically whisk it to get out any lumps. Crack the two eggs into a bowl and briefly beat them before whisking them into the milky batter. Leave the mix in the fridge for an hour.
- While the batter is chilling out, wash and chop the radicchio. Melt 50g of the butter in a pan and add the radicchio leaving it to cook for 10 minutes covered. Then into a saucepan add the gorgonzola and milk, stirring it on low heat till you have a nice creamy mixture. Add the radicchio to the cheese sauce along with 30g/1oz of grated parmesan.
- Now cook your pancakes - Heat 40g/1.5oz of butter in a non-stick frying pan over a medium flame. Cool a little, then pour the melted butter into the batter and whisk it in. Wipe the pan with a kitchen towel so that there is very little fat left, and when it’s slightly steaming pour in enough batter mixture to cover the pan. Cook for a couple of minutes then ease it over (air flip if you’re feeling cocky) and cook the other side.
- Fill up each pancake with some filling, roll it up and place it in an oven-proof dish. Once the dish is cooked, sprinkle over the rest of the parmesan, add a few dollops of butter and place in the oven at 180oC/350oF/GM4 with the grill on for 10 minutes. Serve immediately.