Gratin De Crepes (Stuffed Baked Crepes)
This was one of my favourite recipes made over the Circuit Breaker (read: lockdown) period. It requires at least 1 pot, 1 pan, and 1 baking dish (which is a lot for Ms One-Pot Meal here), but the recipe is simple, and the results are incredibly rewarding – so rewarding that it justifies all the dishes you whipped out.
Aside from the pantry staples like flour, egg, butter and milk, the rest is up to you and what you have lying around in your fridge. These images show softened onions, mushrooms and wilted spinach; I’ve also used ham and cheese; but you can use whatever you like!
I went a little wild and used some garlic butter I had lying around in the fridge to make the crepes, and it gave the most amazing flavour!
I highly recommend making extra crepes to keep in the fridge, because they’re the best thing to snack on with anything sweet or savoury when you’re feeling a little peckish!
Let me know what fillings you use in yours!
And if you’re more of a visual learner (I know I am), you can watch the steps here.
THE RECIPE
SERVES 2-3
Ingredients
Bechamel Sauce
25g butter
25g flour
300g fresh milk
Salt
Pepper
Ground nutmeg (optional)
Filling
700g Gruyere cheese, diced
70g shaved ham
Crepes (makes 6)
40g flour
1 egg
125g fresh milk
1 tbsp butter
Salt
Toppings
1 egg yolk, beaten
Cheese of your preference
Chopped fresh herbs
Directions
Preheat the oven to 175˚C.
Prepare the bechamel sauce by melting the butter in a pot. Once melted, add the flour and stir to mix for a few minutes to cook the flour out.
Then, add the milk in small additions and whisk vigorously after each addition to make sure it is all mixed well, and there are no clumps.
Season with salt, pepper and ground nutmeg.
Add in the fillings of your choice into the bechamel sauce. In this recipe, I’m using ham and cheese, and mix to combine. Set aside.
To prepare the crepe batter, first melt the butter in a heated pan.
While the butter melts, add the flour, egg and salt in a large bowl, and mix to combine. Slowly add the milk and whisk thoroughly each time to avoid clumps forming. Once all the milk has been added in and incorporated, add in the melted butter.
To make the crepes, add in 1 ladle of batter into the pan. Add it to the corner of the pan and swiftly swirl the pan around to spread the batter evenly.
Cook on one side for 1 min. Once the corners peel off from the pan, it is ready to be flipped. Cook on the other side for 30 seconds and set it aside. Continue for the rest of the batter.
To assemble the gratin, spoon 1 tbsp of filling into the centre of each crepe, fold it up into a parcel, and place it into your baking dish.
Once the baking dish is filled up, brush a beaten egg yolk over the top, and sprinkle some grated cheese over.
Bake in the oven at 175˚C for 15 mins, or until the cheese melts into a golden brown colour.