Crespelle ai frutti di mare

Crepes exist in most world cuisines. While going through Italian crespelle recipes, it became clear that crepes in Italy are mainly used as a short version of stuffed pasta. They relate to cannelloni when stuffed, rolled, and baked covered with sauce and grated cheese. They are a shortcut for lasagna when stuffed, folded into triangles (fazzoletti di crespelle or “crepe handkerchiefs”), and baked with a sauce and grated cheese. Italian crepes are baked with a variety of sauces. Some of them are Besciamella (yep, it’s Italian Bechamel) creatively flavored with herbs, mushrooms, caramelized onions, etc., utterly consistent with Auguste Escoffier’s teachings. There are also recipes with tomato- or vegetable-based sauces. All of them include grated cheese on top. Crepes are stuffed with ricotta, mushrooms, deli meats, seafood. Various seafood ingredients are probably the most interesting here because, essentially, you cook them inside the crepe, and, as a result, they stay moist. During the baking, crepes also absorb any juices from either the stuffing or the sauces.

Unbalanced

% Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Step 1

Melt the butter until foaming in a saucepan and stir in the flour. Let it cook for a few seconds over medium heat.

Step 2

When you smell the aroma of cookies, add the cold milk 1 cup at a time, whisking continuously until very smooth. Bring to a simmer. Add bay leaf, season, and let simmer over low heat for about 10 minutes, stirring from time to time.

Step 3

Remove from heat, add nutmeg and lemon juice, season to taste, and set aside until ready to use.

Step 4

Preheat oven 400F. Melt butter over medium heat and saute onions in a small frying pan. Let cool.

Step 5

Dice seafood into bite-size pieces.

Step 6

In a bowl, combine assorted seafood with Bechamel and seasoning.

Step 7

Grease ramekins. Place 1/4 of stuffing in the center of a crespelle and fold the sides.

Step 8

Place it bottom side up in the ramekin and repeat with the other three. Spread 1/4 cup of Bechamel on top of each crespelle and sprinkle with 1 tbsp (or more) of grated cheese.

Step 9

Bake for about 15 minutes or until bubbly and lightly caramelized. Serve hot.

↑Support creators by visiting their site 😊