Savory Crepes Florentine

Submitted by Sharon123

"This would go well with Basic Whole Wheat French Crepes #102058. This is a nice company dish, easy to prepare, especially if made in stages. Some can even be frozen and just popped in the oven. If you plan to freeze crepes, use only fresh ingredients to start with. This is from Cook Now, Serve Later Cookbook. Enjoy! This recipe makes more sauce than needed so save some out, then add more as desired."

 

• Ready In: 1hr 20mins
• Ingredients: 15
• Serves: 6

ingredients

• 1 1⁄2 cups ricotta cheese or 1 1/2 cups firm tofu
• 1 1⁄2 cups chopped cooked spinach, squeezed dry (about 1 pound fresh)
• 2 tablespoons finely grated yellow onions, squeezed dry
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt, to taste
• 1⁄4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1⁄8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg, to taste
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter or 4 tablespoons margarine
• 1⁄4 cup flour
• 2 1⁄2 cups milk
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (about 8 oz.)
• 1⁄4 teaspoon white pepper (optional)
• 1⁄8 teaspoon ground mace, to taste
• 12 seven inch basic french crepes
• 3 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese (for topping)

directions

1. To prepare the filling:

2. In a large bowl, combine the ricotta or tofu, spinach, onion, egg, salt, black pepper, and nutmeg.

3. To prepare the sauce:

4. Melt the butter in a heavy medium size saucepan over moderate heat.
5. Add the flour, and cook, stirring constantly, until bubbly-2 to 3 minutes.
6. Slowly blend in the milk and bring to a boil, stirring constantly.
7. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, still stirring, for 3 to 4 minutes or until thickened and smooth.
8. Remove from the heat and stir in the cheese, white pepper, and mace.
9. One at a time, place each crepe with the most attractive side facedown, so that it will be on the outside when rolled.
10. Spoon 3 to 4 tbls.
11. of filling down the center, then fold the sides over.
12. The crepe should be snugly filled, but not so stuffed that the filling spills out at the ends.
13. Preheat the oven to 350*F.
14. Lay the crepes seam side down, just touching one another, in a lightly greased, 13"x9"x2" baking dish.
15. Pour the sauce over all; top with the Parmesan cheese.
16. At this point, the crepes can be stored.
17. refrigerate in the baking dish, tightly covered, for up to 24 hours.
18. (From the refrigerator, preheat the oven to 400*F. Bake, covered, for 15 to 20 minutes. Uncover and proceed baking for 30 to 40 minutes, as stated below) Freeze in the labeled, tightly covered dish for up to 1 month at 0*F (From freezer,Preheat the oven to 400*F. Do not thaw the crepes. Bake, uncovered, for 1 to 1 1/4 hours or until the crepes are heated through and the sauce is simmering. Brown and serve as states below).
19. Bake the crepes, uncovered, for 30 to 40 minutes or until the sauce is bubbling.
20. run them under the broiler until browned-2 to 3 minutes.
21. Accompany with a salad of sliced tomatoes and red onions with a creamy vinaigrette.
22. Enjoy!
23. Serves 6.

Reviews

[J-Lynn]

This is very tasty; I am not a fan of cooked spinach but it is quite tolerable in this. I cut the recipe in half, used a combination of tofu and a little ricotta. Only 1 6oz bag of spinach though, which made about 1/2 cup cooked. (I liked it that way!) I also halved the sauce amounts, and actually didn't think it was too much, as others have said. Very good recipe- I think I would try it again with homemade cream soup instead of the white sauce, to save time and trim the fat content.

 

[mlao77]

I made these crepes with the ricotta and used swiss cheese instead of cheddar. I wanted to make this recipe my own so I sauteed a couple cloves of garlic with a half chopped onion, and I added 1 cup of sliced mushrooms, before adding fresh baby spinach and drained it slightly. After combining that with the ricotta and stuffing the crepes, I poured the cheese sauce right over them until they were bubbly brown. They were terrific and I think using swiss cheese complimented the other flavors better than cheddar would have. A satisfying and simple recipe!

 

[ShaGun]

I used pre-made crepes, so that made this really easy to prepare. I used firm tofu. I served it to company, and only one comment was made: "This has so much sauce that I can't really taste the crepes." It is very rich. I enjoyed it but I don't know that I'd make it again. It's definitely worth trying!

 

[Rita1652]

If you`re looking for something very rich and creamy. This is for you.I made the sauce in the micro by melying the butter then adding the flour mix till combined added the milk stirred in add microwaved till thickened about 3 minutes added the cheese stirred in microed 1 minute stirred then poured on crepes. I used only have the sauce so you may want to cut the sauce in half. Garnished with scallions which gave it freshness.Thanks Sharon!