Kids don’t eat vegetables? Here’s an easy and tasty “trick” to make them like it: green spinach smiles with a delicious filling of smoked cooked ham and robiola. It’s a rich and enticing main dish, ideal even for a dinner with friends or a buffet. We can serve it as a second course and customize it according to our tastes. The crepes can also be made with gluten-free and lactose-free ingredients.
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Cheap
- Preparation time: 45 Minutes
- Portions: 6 smiles
- Cooking methods: Oven, Stove
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 3.5 oz Frozen spinach (or 500 g fresh)
- 2/3 cup All-purpose flour
- 1 Egg
- 1 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
- 3/4 cup Milk
- 1 pinch Fine salt
- 9 oz Cooked ham
- 7 oz Robiola cheese
- to taste Pepper
Preparation
To cook the crepes, we will need a non-stick pan about 5-6 inches in diameter.
Bring some water to a boil, salt it, and immerse 100 grams (2 cubes) of frozen spinach.
Turn off the heat and let them thaw. After about 20 minutes, drain and squeeze them as much as possible; you’ll get around 1.5 oz of spinach. If you’re not in a rush, you can let the spinach cubes thaw at room temperature.
In a blender, combine the spinach and add the milk gradually to avoid ending up with a liquid mixture.
Blend until you get a creamy, smooth, and lump-free mixture.
In a large bowl, sift the flour, and slowly add the spinach mixture, the whole egg, the pinch of fine salt, and the oil.
Stir with a steel whisk to avoid lumps. It should result in a smooth and fluid batter that we will let rest for 15 minutes, covered with a small plate.
After 15 minutes, heat a pan, brush the inside with a little oil (it will only be necessary to do this once), and pour in two tablespoons of batter to cover the bottom of the pan.
Cook each crepe on both sides for about 30/40 seconds. You can flip them to the other side only when they can be easily lifted with a wooden spatula. Continue until the batter is finished.
Finely chop the cooked ham with a knife and mix it with the robiola.
Add a pinch of ground pepper and mix.
Turn on the oven grill. Meanwhile, line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a small bowl, put 1/2 tablespoon of flour and two tablespoons of water, mix to obtain a liquid batter; we will use it to seal the smiles.
On each crepe, place a generous dollop of filling, pressing it down a bit. Brush the edges with the water and flour batter, close them into a half-moon shape, brush the surface with the same batter, and pass them in breadcrumbs.
Repeat this operation for each smile. Bake them at mid-height under the grill for a maximum of 3/5 minutes.
Extra idea. You can use fresh spinach. After removing the leaf stalks, wash and let them drain. Then, immerse them in boiling salted water and turn off the heat. Let rest for 10 minutes, then drain and let cool. After that, you can squeeze them well and follow the procedure described above.
Bon appetit
