Recipe: Florentine-style Crêpes (from Italian Cooking and Living)

Florentine-style Crêpes

Recipe Courtesy of Italian Cooking and Living (http://www.italiancookingandliving.com)
A web-exclusive recipe from Italian Cooking and Living

For the crêpes:

¾ cup flour
2 eggs
1 cup milk
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
salt

For the filling:

11 ounces frozen spinach, defrosted
7 ounces fresh ricotta cheese
2 tablespoons freshly grated grana padano
1 egg
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the béchamel sauce:

3 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons butter
2 cups milk
4 tablespoons tomato purée
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Make the crepes: Mix the flour, eggs, and a pinch of salt. Slowly pour in the milk and butter, while whisking. Let stand for 30 minutes. Heat a crepe pan over medium-high heat. Pour 3 tablespoons of batter into the pan and tip to cover the bottom. When the top begins to solidify, flip with a heatproof spatula and cook the other side, about 30 seconds. Prepare all the batter in this way.

Make the filling: Defrost the spinach and wring out all excess water. Mix well with all of the other ingredients.

Make the béchamel sauce: Melt the butter in a pan and add the flour a little at a time, whisking constantly. Cook for 2 minutes. In another pan, heat the milk. Add a pinch of salt to the flour and butter and slowly whisk in the boiling hot milk. Cook over low heat for about 5 minutes.

Assemble the crêpes: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place a few spoonfuls of filling onto each crêpe and roll up. Place the rolled crêpes into a nonstick baking dish and cover with the béchamel sauce. Add the tomato sauce over the top. Bake for 20 minutes. Serve hot. Serves 4