Crespelle with Creamy Mushrooms

Make your meal memorable with  

these savory crepes stuffed with a creamy and cheesy mushrooms filling

Crepes are not only great for breakfast or brunch, filled with fresh fruit, chocolate and whipped cream - which I love! They are also amazing for a fun lunch or dinner stuffed with veggies and cheese. Here is one of the many alternative you have to fill savory crepes: a great combination of the earthy, rich flavor of the mushrooms, the strong aroma of the taleggio cheese, and the delicate and creamy besciamella sauce.
This is definitely not one of my quick dinner recipes, but the good thing is that you can prepare it with a little advance, and bake it at the last minute. You can use any variety of mushroom. Just pick the one that you prefer or you can find at the market. I like to use taleggio, or robiola. These are both semi-soft cheeses with a bold aroma and a sweet flavor.
I made these crespelle lots of times, and they are always a big hit. Now, you too can make your dinner a memorable meal. Here is the recipe.

Ingredients: serving 4
For the crepes:

• 1 and 1/4 cups (180 gr) all-purpose flour
• 2 eggs
• 10 oz (300 ml) of whole milk
• 1/4 teaspoon of salt

For the filling:

• 2 oz (58 gr) plus 1 tablespoon of unsalted butter
• 2 cups (475 ml) whole milk
• 1/3 cup (50 gr) all purpose flour
• 14 oz (400 gr) of mushrooms, clean and cut in pieces
• 2 tablespoons of fresh Italian parsley, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves
• 3.5 oz (100 gr) of taleggio or robiola cheese
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 2 tablespoons of freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• salt

Directions:
1. Let's start by preparing the crepes. In a large mixing bowl, whisk the flour and salt with about half of the milk. When combined, stir in the eggs until smooth. Gradually add the rest of the milk, stirring until smooth once more.

2: Heat a frying pan ( I used a 8 inches bottom pan), slightly oiled, over medium-high heat. Scoop some batter (about 1/3 of a cup with my size pan), enough to cover the bottom of the pan, tilting it to cover the bottom evenly. Cook the crepes about 1 to 2 minutes on each side, until slightly golden. Help yourself with  fork or a spatula to flip the crepe.... after the first few you will master this technique!

3: In a separate skillet, cook the mushrooms with olive oil, garlic, chopped parsley and a bit of salt for about 10 minutes.

4: Prepare the besciamella (white sauce), using 4 oz of butter, 2 cups of milk, 1/3 cup of flour and about 1/2 teaspoon of salt, following this recipe.

5: Mix the mushrooms with the besciamella, and the taleggio cheese cut in cubes, so that it melts quickly.

6: Spread some of the creamy mushroom onto each crepe, covering about half of the crepe. Fold in half (if small) or in 4 (if large) and place in a oven pan (slightly buttered on the bottom). Do the same with all the crepes.

7: Pour the rest of the creamy mushrooms on top of the crepes. Sprinkle with small pieces of butter and the Parmesan cheese. Bake for 10-15 minutes at 375 degrees right before serving!

Buon appetito!

  

Risotto with Speck, Porcini and Taleggio Cheese

Deliciously creamy risotto, with an amazing combination of Italian ingredients cooked in red wine!

Today was the end of my giveaway! And the lucky winner of a new set of silicone baking mats from Kitchen Executive Chef is:

Allison C.

Congratulation Allison on your win! I will shortly contact you by email.
Thank you all for your entries, and a special thank you to Kitchen Executive Chef for the generous gift!!

And for tonight, no cooking for me :-)
My mother-in-law has been visiting from Italy, and today is her turn in the kitchen. She suggested this deliciously yummy risotto for dinner. So all I'm doing is sit back and relax! Well, not quite. I do need to write down the recipe, which I've never prepared before, and take lots of picture for this post. I definitely want to share with you this super tasty risotto!

Speck, porcini  mushrooms and taleggio cheese are common ingredients in Italy. You would find them in any grocery store. Here, not so much. So in order to prepare this dish, you may have to search around a bit. But I promise: when you taste it, this risotto will be well worth your time and effort!
If you live in the Los Angeles area, you can find dried porcini mushrooms and speck, which is a smoked type of prosciutto, at Guidi Marcello, Ltd. (1649 10th street in Santa Monica). Here is an interesting article about the store.
Bay Cities Italian Deli in Santa Monica also sells dried porcini and taleggio cheese. Don't forget to buy the arborio rice for the risotto! And while you are there, make sure to try their bread. Freshly baked, still warm and always delicious!!


Note: I recently added a printable version of my recipes (see right under here!) which only has the ingredients and step-by-step directions. No pictures, and no extra blah blah blah. :-)

Ingredients: serving 4                                                             Printable recipe

• half onion, finely chopped
• 5 oz of speck, cut in small cubes
• 0.5 oz of dried porcini mushrooms
• 0.5 lb of Taleggio cheese (or Robiola cheese)
• 1 cup of red wine
• 1.5 cups of Arborio rice
• 2 cups of vegetable stock (or water if you don't have any)
• 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• salt to taste

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Directions:
Step 1: Soak the dried porcini mushrooms in warm water for 10 minutes or until you are ready to use them.

Step 2: In a large skillet, saute' the chopped onion in the olive oil for a few minutes.

Step 3: Stir in the rice, and after a minute add the red wine. Cook for about 7 minutes, adding stock (or water) when necessary.

Step 4: Add the porcini mushrooms, drained and cut in pieces. Cook for 5 more minutes, adding more stock or water when the rice is dry.

Step 5: Add the speck cut in cubes and cook the risotto until ready al dente, should be an additional 5 minutes or so. Adjust with salt if necessary.

Step 6: At this point, stir in the taleggio cheese. Mix well and let the risotto sit off the stove for a couple of minutes, before serving.

Buon Appetito!