Ricotta and Goat Cheese Crespelle
Crespelle are Italian crepes—paper-thin pancakes filled with anything that inspires you. Here, a savory two-cheese filing is used, but you could just as well roll them with sautéed mushrooms, warm ratatouille, or a dessert filling like fresh peaches, bananas, and chocolate sauce, or berries and crème fraîche.
Serves: 4Hands-on: 30 minutesTotal: 50 minutesDifficulty: Medium
Serves: 4
Ingredients
- 1⁄2 cup all-purpose flour
- 4 large eggs, divided
- 1 cup milk
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1 1⁄4 tsp. kosher salt, divided
- 4 Tbsp. butter, divided
- 2 cups tomato sauce
- 8 oz. ricotta, drained over cheesecloth or a fine strainer
- 4 oz. fresh goat cheese, softened
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1⁄2 tsp. ground black pepper
- 1⁄2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1⁄4 cup roughly chopped basil
Directions
- For the crepes, whisk together the flour and 3 eggs until they form a smooth paste. Gradually whisk in the milk, olive oil, and 1⁄4 teaspoon salt.
- Heat a 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add a teaspoon butter, and spread it around the pan with a brush or the corner of a towel. Add 1⁄4 cup of batter to the pan. Swirl the pan around in a circular pattern to evenly distribute the batter.
- Cook undisturbed until the edges become visibly brown. Using a wooden or rubber spatula, lift the edge of the crepe from the pan. Quickly flip the crepe using your fingers or a wooden spoon. Cook for 30 seconds on the second side, then slide onto a plate; keep warm while you repeat the procedure with remaining batter. Crepes can be stacked 1 atop the other for storage.
- To make the crespelle, Heat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with remaining butter. Spread tomato sauce on bottom of baking dish.
- Whisk together the ricotta, goat cheese, parsley, remaining egg, remaining salt, and pepper. Place 1 1⁄2 tablespoons filling onto the bottom third of a crepe; roll away from yourself, forming a filled cylinder. Repeat with remaining crepes. Line them up in the baking dish and top with mozzarella cheese
- Bake for 20 minutes, until tops are slightly crisp. Garnish with chopped basil leaves.