Green crespelle in a tomato sauce

We get fancy with crespelle, the Italian version of the French crêpes. We make them sweet and savoury, with jam or mushrooms, cheese and vegetables, chocolate and ice cream. We enjoy them all, for breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner.


We have just made up a new crespelle recipe, a symphony of flavours and colours.
With the sweetest tomatoes from the market,  we dressed our spinach crespelle filled with ricotta and green peas.

Not difficult this dish, but do take your time to organise three different preparations: the crespelle, the filling and the tomato sauce.

For a smoother and more delicate tomato sauce, it is essential to peel the tomatoes, discard the seeds and dice the pulp.

To give a touch of colour to the ricotta and green pea filling we added a spoonful of tomato paste. Then we spread the filling over the crespella, we rolled and cut in half each one and we arrange them in a serving dish, big enough to hold them all.

We baked straightaway and served warm. A feast.

Green crespelle in a tomato sauce

For the crespelle:

100 g plain white flour

50 g cooked spinach, squeezed

2 large eggs

250 ml milk, preferably whole

a pinch of salt

butter to grease the pan

For the filling:

1 large red onion, finely chopped

1 knob of butter

250 g green peas, defrost

Sea salt

Freshly ground pepper

250 g ricotta

2 tablespoons grated emmenthal/gruyere

3 tablespoons grated Parmesan
1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 tablespoon fresh rosemary leaves, finely chopped

1 yolk

Nut meg

Extra virgin olive oil

For the tomato sauce:

2 large shallots, finely chopped

700 g plum tomatoes

1 tablespoon fresh mint leaves, finely chopped

Sea salt

Freshly grated Parmesan to serve

Extra virgin olive oil

Serves 5 to7

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Cooking time: 80 minutes

Crespelle

•         In a blender, blend the flour, the eggs, the spinach and the milk with a pinch of salt to form a thick batter. If you do it by hand, remember to add the milk slowly. Leave to rest for 20-30 minutes in the fridge.
•      Heat a non-stick frying pan (24cm diameter) and melt a knob of butter. Ladle 50 ml of batter in the centre of the pan and swirl it around the sides until the bottom is coated in a thin layer. Cook over medium to high heat for less than a minute, until the top is still moist. Slip a spatula under the crespella and turn it over to the other side. And cook it for 30 seconds. Gently slide it onto a plate and repeat until the batter is finished. You will get 7 to 8 crespelle.

Tomato sauce

• In a pan, heat 1 tablespoon of oil and sauté the shallots over low heat for 10 minutes, until translucent.
• Meanwhile, blanch the tomatoes in boiling water for 1 minute. Drain, peel, discard the seeds and dice them. Stir into the onion and simmer for 15 minutes, uncovered. Season with salt, a twist of black pepper and the mint leaves.

Filling 

• In a frying pan, heat 1 tablespoon of oil and the butter and sauté the onion with a pinch of salt for 10 minutes on low heat.
• Add the green peas and cook over low heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with salt.
•   Transfer in a bowl and let it cool.
• In a large bowl, mix the ricotta with the cheeses, the tomato paste, the herb and the spice. Incorporate the peas. Adjust the seasoning.
• Spread the crespelle with the green pea mixture, roll them tightly and cut in half.

Baking

• Preheat the oven to 180°C.
• Grease an oven dish with butter and arrange the crespelle over.
• Cover with the tomato sauce and sprinkle with Parmesan.
• Bake for 15-20 minutes.
• Let it rest 5 minutes before serving.