Culinary Cousins {Baked Crespelle with Tomato, Spinach and Cheese}

As I've become more educated about food and cooking, I have been so intrigued to discover the connections and similarities of cultures through the foods that are eaten. The more you search, the more common denominators you find - it seems like there are basic dishes or preparations that each culture puts there own mark on via the core ingredients and spices used.

For instance, take a look at a Chinese dumpling or wonton; dough shell filled with meat and/or vegetable filling and then either steamed, cooked in broth or pan fried. Pierogi? From Central and Eastern Europe; dough shell filled with potato, minced meat, cheese, fruit or sauerkraut. They're usually boiled, then pan-fried in butter with onions. Ravioli? Italian; dough filled shell filled with anything from meat to cheese to vegetables or any combination of those. Samosa? India/Southeast Asia; dough filled with potatoes, onions, peas, lentils and then deep fried.  Are you sensing a pattern here? 

Even foods that you might think of as symbolic of one particular country or culture have cross-cultural cousins - like crêpes which scream "France!" Made by pouring a fairly thin batter onto a buttered hot flat pan, and then swirling the batter in the pan to cover the bottom, a thin pancake is formed. Savory crepes are often served filled with ham and cheese, mushrooms, caramelized onions, artichokes or even ratatouille. Folded in half and then half again, they are served from stands as a snack to be eaten on the go. However, the French aren't the only ones who enjoy a good savory pancake - so do the Italians. Yup, that's right, crespelle (say cres-pell-ay) are very thin pancakes made from a batter of milk, flour and eggs sauteed in butter. Italians treat these as if they were pasta wrappers and stuff them with savory meat, cheese or vegetable fillings.

As I searched the freezer for something to make for dinner, I happened upon a stack of frozen crêpes that I'd made a while back (okay, about 18 mos back for a crepe party we had.) Thinking it was time to clear them out, and thinking that they might not be so great after such a long time in the freezer, I decided that a baked dish that smothers them in sauce and cheese would be a good plan.  Here's what I did:

Layered Crespelle with Tomato, Spinach, and Cheese

8-9 crespelle(thin pancakes) - recipe to follow, or crêpes made in a comparable way 

Sauce:

• 6 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 Tsp chopped garlic
• 3 Tbsp chopped parsley
• 1 1/2 C canned diced tomatoes (Italian plum tomatoes if you can find them)
• salt

Filling:

• 1/3 C freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 C mozzarella (fresh, finely diced) (if you can't find fresh, shredded mozzarella will work too)
• 1 bunch spinach, rough chopped and sauteed in olive oil (could also use frozen spinach; defrosted and squeezed of the excess water)
• butter for greasing the pan

1. Make pancakes and set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 400F
3. Make sauce: In a medium sauce pan, put olive oil and garlic and heat to medium. Cook until garlic becomes pale gold in color (Be sure to stir and not let the garlic turn dark as it will become bitter and ruin your sauce.)
4. Add the parsley and cook for about a minute; stirring  a couple of times. 
5. Add the tomatoes and their juice and a pinch of salt.
6. Stirring occasionally, cook at a steady simmer for about 15 minutes. Tomato liquid should reduce and separate from the oil. Remove from heat.
7. Smear a 9 in round cake pan with butter (just a light coating) Select the largest pancake and place it on the bottom of the pan. Coat it with a thin layer of tomato sauce (Keep in mind that you will be repeating for all of the pancakes- ~8 more times; be conservative with the sauce.)
8. Sprinkle with Parmesan, mozzarella and sauteed spinach. Cover with another pancake and continue this layering procedure until you've used up all fo the pancakes and the fillings. (Leave just enough sauce to smear the top pancake and enough grated Parmesan to sprinkle the top.)
9. Bake in the upper part of the oven for about 15 minutes. Serve from pan or for a nicer presentation, transfer to a serving platter. Allow the pie to sit for a few minutes before slicing into pie wedges and serving (Can also be served at room temp.)

Crespelle

Batter

• 1/2 C flour
• 1/2 C milk
• 1/4 C water
• 2 large eggs
• pinch of salt
• 2 Tbsp butter, melted (plus some extra for cooking the crepes in the pan)

1. Combine all of the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. (My preferred method is to place all of the ingredients into a plastic pitcher and use an immersion blender to blend well.)
2. Let batter stand for 30 minutes (or covered, it can be refrigerated for up to 2 days). This rest time will allow the flour to absorb the liquid and for the gluten in the flour to relax.
3. Place a nonstick or seasoned crepe pan over medium heat and coat with a little butter.  stir the batter and pour about a 1/4 C into the pan. Lift pan off heat and rotate and tilt the pan until the batter coats the bottom and forms a very thin layer.
4. Cook until the underside is golden. Turn using a spatula or your fingers (fingers work best) and cook the other side until it is lightly browned.
5. Remove the cooked crêpes to a piece of waxed paper or parchment paper. Continue cooking rest of batter, buttering pan and stirring the batter before each one.a
6. Stack finished crêpes between sheets of the paper. 
7. Use right away or let cool, place in airtight container, and refrigerate for a few days or freeze for one month (although, my 18 mo old crêpes were quite good.)

Next time you're up for something a little different, you might want to give these a whirl. The most labor intensive part is the crêpe making, but if you can make pancakes, you can make these. The lightness is a delicious alternative to a traditional pasta when thinking about Italian dishes. Combined with the tomato sauce, spinach and cheese, this is a knockout combination.

Happy Cooking!

sld

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