The crepes with ricotta and spinach are a delicious and versatile dish, ideal for a light lunch or dinner. They are made with thin crepes, which are then filled with a soft filling of fresh ricotta and spinach. The preparation is quite simple, but the final result is rich in flavor. The crepes are made with a batter of flour, eggs, milk, and a pinch of salt. The mixture is cooked in a non-stick pan, resulting in thin and golden sheets.
For the filling, the spinach can be fresh or frozen, cooked quickly and squeezed to remove excess water. Then mixed with ricotta. To further enrich the flavor, Parmesan, eggs, nutmeg, salt, and pepper are added.
After filling them with the ricotta and spinach filling, they are rolled and placed in a baking dish, covered with béchamel sauce and sprinkled with grated Parmesan and Pecorino. Finally, we gratinate them in the oven until the surface is golden and crispy. The result is a creamy dish, rich in flavor, and absolutely delicious.
Before moving on to the recipe, here are other savory first courses
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Preparation time: 50 Minutes
- Portions: 6
- Cooking methods: Stove, Oven, Electric Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Energy 464.59 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 37.83 (g) of which sugars 6.75 (g)
- Proteins 20.67 (g)
- Fat 26.20 (g) of which saturated 14.00 (g)of which unsaturated 7.81 (g)
- Fibers 1.79 (g)
- Sodium 693.82 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 250 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients
- 2 eggs
- 1.5 cups milk
- 1.7 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tbsps butter (melted)
- salt
- 10.5 oz ricotta cheese
- 1.75 oz spinach, cooked, boiled
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp Parmesan cheese (grated)
- salt
- pepper
- 1 pinch nutmeg (ground)
- 18 oz béchamel sauce
- 0.5 cup heavy cream
- 2 tbsps Parmesan cheese (grated)
- 1 tbsp Pecorino Romano cheese (grated)
- 2 tbsps butter (in small pieces)
Tools
- 1 Pan
- 1 Pot
- 1 Baking Dish
Preparation
To prepare the crepes, mix the eggs, milk, salt, melted butter, and flour in a container. Mix well until you get a smooth and homogeneous batter. Once ready, lightly butter the pan, which must be very hot, and start cooking one crepe at a time. To see how to cook them best, I recommend watching the video above.
After boiling and squeezing the spinach, we can start preparing the filling. In a bowl, place the ricotta, chopped spinach, egg, Parmesan, adjust with salt, add pepper and nutmeg, then mix well until you get a homogeneous mixture.
Take each crepe and fill it with a generous spoonful of filling. Spread the filling on one side, try to spread it as much as possible, and then roll the crepe onto itself, forming a cannoli.
After preparing the béchamel sauce following the recipe among the ingredients, mix it with the cream and spread some of the mixture on the bottom of the baking dish. Then start laying the crepes, side by side, covering the entire surface of the baking dish, trying to form a single layer.
Cover the crepes with the rest of the béchamel sauce, then sprinkle with grated Parmesan and Pecorino. Finally, add some small pieces of butter to make them even more delicious.
Bake the crepes in a preheated oven at 428°F for about 25 minutes, or until the surface is puffed and golden.
NOTES
The crepes are delicious if served hot, with a soft and succulent interior and a crispy and golden exterior. If you want to make them even more stringy, you can add some chopped mozzarella before baking.
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