Tuscan crepes are tender, thin pancakes with a creamy ricotta filling and a rich, savory tomato sauce over the top.
Friends, I’m so excited that I just might explode!
First of all, it’s…
{CREPES WEEK!!}
That’s right! This week will bring a larger-than-ever collaborative effort to feature more than fourteen new crepe recipes spanning six days and 12 different blogs. Each day we’ll feature at least one savory and one sweet crepe, based on a master crepe recipe created by America’s Test Kitchen. A great crepes recipe can be dressed up with just about any kind of fillings or toppings–the ATK crepe is that recipe.
But, wait! There’s more!
The kind folks at America’s Test Kitchen caught wind of what we were up to, and they have kindly offered to partner with us for Crepe Week!
Y’all know America’s Test Kitchen right? The fab television show that not only gives you great recipes, but explains the how/why behind what works and what doesn’t in the recipes? The force behind Cooks Illustrated and Cook’s Country magazines? Creators of some of my very favorite instructional cookbooks of all time?
Yeah. That America’s Test Kitchen.
{Insert me squealing and doing a big ol’ happy dance here}
So…the kind folks at America’s Test Kitchen have offered to partner with us for Crepe Week, and have most generously given us four of their fabulous cookbooks to giveaway. If you’ve never read an America’s Test Kitchen Cookbook cover to cover, then you should. You cannot possibly come away from the experience without being a smarter cook.
I’m fortunate enough to be giving away one of the best cookbooks that I’ve ever owned!
But first, let’s talk Tuscan crepes.
This is a long recipe, but so worth the effort. Hang in there, because I’m going to tell you how to win one America’s Test Kitchen cookbook after the recipe. (Of the four to be given away this week!)
♥♥♥
The Bacon Slayer and I honeymooned in the great city of San Francisco. We stayed at a sweet-little Victorian bed & breakfast at the foot of Golden Gate Park. The setting was idyllic, and we were thrilled to be within walking distance from hundreds of restaurants. Our first day there, we heeded the breakfast recommendation of our concierge, and walked a few short blocks to a little place that served the best crepes that we’ve ever eaten. Their breakfast crepes were unbelievable!
We soon discovered that the little restaurant was an all-crepes-all-the-time kind of place, so we went back for a crepe dinner…and then again for a late-night dessert. Then we went back for breakfast crepes again the following morning. Can you say Crepes Obsessed? Their menu was so extensive that we ate crepes at least once a day for a full two weeks and still didn’t try everything on the menu.
Part of my failure to work my way through the extensive crepe menu hinged on the fact that I kept ordering the same meal–the Tuscan Crepes–thin crepes encompassing an herb-speckled cheese filling, and topped with a creamy tomato sauce studded with capers. This is my recreation those amazing crepes that sustained me for our first few weeks of marriage.
To make the Tuscan crepes, gather some flour, butter, milk, salt, canola oil, and eggs.
Here’s a little secret about crepes–you do not need a fancy-schmancy crepe pan to make them. The batter isn’t fussy, it’s just thin so you just have to play around a little bit to get a feel for the right technique. Nothing about crepes is all that difficult, but they do take a little practice.
Set an 8-inch non-stick skillet over low heat while preparing the batter.
Pour the milk into a work bowl. ATK recommends whole milk. I used 2% milk because that’s what I always have on hand. Besides, the filled crepes are pretty rich, so I tried to lighten it up a bit where I could.
Crack the eggs into the milk.
Whisk the milk and eggs together until blended. I prefer to use a stick blender for these applications, but a whisk and a little elbow-grease will suffice.
Add the flour and salt to the egg mixture and whisk or blend until smooth.
Pour the melted, cooled butter into the batter, and whisk until incorporated.
The crepe batter should be smooth and very thin.
Add a little oil to the non-stick pan that has been heating over low heat.
I like to take a wadded-up paper towel to evenly distribute the oil around the bottom of the pan. Increase heat to medium and let oil heat for 1 minute.
Before pouring the batter into the pan, have a cooling rack ready on the counter to set the finished crepes on. Crepes give off steam as they cook, so stacking cooked crepes on a rack will allow the steam escape so that they don’t get gummy and stick together.
Pour about 3 tablespoons of batter onto the middle of the pan.
Quickly tilt and shake the pan to evenly distribute the batter over the bottom. The batter will cook quickly, so you have to work fast.
Cook crepe until the edges dry out and begin to brown–about 25 seconds.
Loosen the edges of the crepe with a thin spatula before flipping.
Cook the other side of the crepe for an additional 20 seconds,
or until other side has a spotted appearance.
Place the cooked crepe onto the wire rack, and continue with the rest of the batter. Once all crepes are made and have cooled, stack them on a plate, and cover with another plate.
Set aside while preparing the sauce and filling for your Tuscan crepes.
The crepes are topped with a fairly simple sauce comprised of: canned tomatoes, oregano, cream, capers, white wine, minced garlic, and olive oil.
Heat the oil in a large rimmed skillet over medium heat. Sauté the onions until soft; about 5 minutes.
Season the onions with some freshly cracked pepper.
Add the minced garlic to the pan and sauté for an additional minute.
Pour the white wine into the pan. If wine isn’t your thing, then go ahead and substitute low-sodium chicken stock.
Continue cooking over medium heat until wine (or stock) is reduced by half–about 5 more minutes.
Add the drained tomatoes and cream to the mix; stir. Reduce heat and simmer for about 10 minutes or until sauce begins to thicken.
Stir in the capers, oregano, and crushed red pepper. Simmer for 2 more minutes. Taste the sauce, and adjust the flavor with salt and pepper, to taste. Remove from heat and set aside.
Now it’s time to make the filling for the Tuscan crepes!
The filling comes together quickly with reduced-fat cream cheese, part-skim ricotta, freshly grated Romano, herbed goat cheese, eggs, fresh basil, salt and pepper.
Place the cheeses and eggs in a bowl. Mix with a hand mixer until blended.
Stir in the basil, salt, and pepper. Now that the filling is ready, it’s time to start filling the crepes.
First, preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 9 x 13 x 2-inch pan with cooking spray.
Lay a crepe on a plate, and spoon about 1/4 cup of filling onto the center.
Fold two of the sides of the crepe over the filling to overlap. Place the filled crepe, seam side down, and continue until all of the crepes are filled.
Spoon sauce over the crepes and bake for 30 minutes, or until heated through. Sprinkle with additional cheese, if desired.
Time to eat your Tuscan crepes!
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Calories
Fat
Carbs
Protein
Kirsten Kubert
Yields 16
Serves 3
Tuscan crepes are tender, thin pancakes with a creamy ricotta filling and a rich, savory tomato sauce over the top.
Save RecipeIngredients
- (Crepe recipe adapted from America’s Test Kitchen)
- ½ C. vegetable oil
- 1 C. all-purpose flour
- ¼ tsp. salt
- 1 ½ C. 2% milk
- 3 eggs
- 2 Tbs. unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 2 Tbs. olive oil
- ½ C. diced onion
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled & minced
- 1 C. dry white wine (can substitute chicken broth)
- 2 (14.5 oz.) cans diced tomatoes, drained
- 1 ¼ C. heavy cream
- ¼ C. capers (packed in brine, drained)
- 1 tsp. fresh oregano, minced
- ¼ tsp. kosher salt (or more, to taste)
- 1/8 tsp. black pepper (or more, to taste)
- Pinch of crushed red pepper (or more, to taste)
- 15 oz. part-skim ricotta
- 8 oz. cream cheese (1/3 less fat Neufchatel)
- ¾ C. freshly grated Pecorino Romano
- 4 oz. herbed goat cheese
- 1 Tbs. fresh parsley, minced
- 2 tsp. fresh basil, minced
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- ¼ tsp. kosher salt
- 1/8 tsp. white pepper
Instructions
- Set an 8-inch non-stick skillet over low heat while preparing the crepe batter. (No longer than 10 minutes.)
- Set a wire rack onto the counter next to the stove for the finished crepes.
- Pour the milk into a work bowl, and crack the eggs into the milk; whisking the milk and eggs together until blended.
- Add the flour and salt; whisking until smooth.
- Pour in the cooled, melted butter into the bowl, and whisk until incorporated.
- Place the oil into the skillet and smear it around the bottom with a paper towel, to coat; increase heat to medium and heat for one more minute.
- Pour 3 tablespoons of batter onto the center of the prepared pan. Lift the pan and tilt and shake it in all directions to coat the bottom with a very thin layer of batter. The batter will cook fast, so you’ll have to move quickly.
- Cook crepe until the edges dry out and begin to brown; about 25 seconds. Crepe should be browned evenly on the bottom. Loosen the edges with a rubber spatula and flip the crepe, continuing to cook until the other side is spotted; about 20 more seconds.
- Transfer the crepe to the wire rack. Allow the pan to reheat for a minute before pouring more batter. Repeat until all batter is used.
- Once all crepes have cooked/cooled, stack them on a plate and cover with another plate; set aside while making the sauce.
- In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add the diced onion, cooking until soft but not browned, stirring occasionally; about 5 minutes.
- Sautee the minced garlic with the softened onions for one more minute.
- Pour the wine (or broth) into the pan; continue stirring and cooking until reduced by half (about 5 more minutes.)
- Add the drained tomatoes and the cream, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 10 minutes; stirring occasionally until sauce begins to thicken.
- Stir in the capers, oregano and crushed red pepper; simmer for 2 more minutes. Taste the sauce and adjust flavor with salt and pepper.
- Remove from heat and prepare the filling.
- Place the ricotta, cream cheese, herbed goat cheese, and grated Romano cheese into a medium bowl.
- Mince the fresh parsley and basil before adding to the bowl.
- Lightly beat the eggs and add them to the bowl along with the salt and pepper.
- Stir to combine the filling mixture.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9 x 13 x 2-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
- Put one crepe flat on a plate. Spoon about ¼ cup of filling down the center of each crepe. Fold two of the edges over the filling, overlapping them to seal.
- Place the filled crepe, seam side down, into the prepared baking dish. Repeat with the remaining crepes and filling, ensuring that the crepes are closely tucked in a single layer.
- Spoon the sauce over the filled crepes in the baking dish. Sprinkle with additional grated Romano cheese, if desired.
- Bake crepes for 30 to 40 minutes, or until heated through.
- Makes 16 eight-inch crepes
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Now that our bellies are full, let’s get to the Giveaway!
THE GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED.
Best. Baking. Cookbook. Ever!
The fine folks at America’s Test Kitchen were kind enough to agree to give one lucky Comfortably Domestic reader a copy of their awesome cookbook Baking Illustrated. Not only does ATK perform exhaustive research and testing of the equipment and ingredients used in baking applications, they explain their reasoning behind the recipe development process and their results every step of the way–they make all the mistakes so you don’t have to! They also tell you what their desired outcome was for each recipe, which makes choosing the “right” recipe easier than ever. If I could keep only cookbook from my library, it would be Baking Illustrated. Seriously.
I bought a copy of Baking Illustrated a few years ago, and I can not believe how much I’ve learned just by reading–I reference that cookbook all the time. In fact, most of my Food Dork Friday posts all begin with a healthy review of Baking Illustrated. It’s good stuff, man!
*** The Giveaway is now closed. Thank you to all who entered. ***
Are you baffled by brownies? Perplexed by pie crust? Cranky at the thought of cake batter? Tell me all about it so that you can be entered to win a book that will answer all of your baking questions while giving you fool-proof recipes to boot.
Bonus entries for subscribing to and/or following Comfortably Domestic on Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest. Just comment here and tell me all of the places that we hang out.
You may also tweet about the Baking Illustrated giveaway, like so:
Happy #CrepeWeek! I just entered to win a copy of Baking Illustrated from @TestKitchen and @ComfortDomestic http://wp.me/RmMY
For additional chances to win:
- Like America’s Test Kitchen on Facebook, and leave a comment on this post telling me that you did.
- Follow @TestKitchen on Twitter, and leave a comment on this post telling me that you did..
- Sign up for the America’s Test Kitchen Feed, and leave a comment on this post telling me that you did.
For even more entries to win, follow any of my lovely Crepes Week collaborators anywhere on social media, and come back to tell me about it. You’re going to want to do this, because we have some seriously tasty crepes to share and even more cookbook giveaways, such as: the Cook’s Illustrated Cookbook, The ATK Family Cookbook, and The ATK Simple Weeknight Favorites.
Here’s what we can look forward to for Crepes Week:
C’est moi – savory Tuscan Crepes
Megan @ Wanna Be A Country Cleaver – sweet Grand Marnier Berry Crepes
Kat @ Tenaciously Yours – savory Southwest Crepes with Cilantro Pesto
Jeanne @ Inside NanaBread’s Head – sweet Lemon Cream Crepe Cakes for Two
Lauren @ Climbing Grier Mountain – savory Herbed Goat Cheese Crepes
Madeline @ Munching in the Mitten – sweet Blueberry Lemon Crepes a la mode
Carrie @ Bakeaholic Mama – savory Vermonter Crepes with ham & cheese
Katie @ The Hill Country Cook – sweet
Monica @ The Grommom – savory Prosciutto & Asparagus Crepes
Mads @ La Petite Pancake – sweet Strawberry Crepes, Au Lait
Allison @ Decadent Philistines – savory Red Pepper & Goat Cheese Crepes
Anne @ From My Sweet Heart – sweet Red Velvet Crepes with Mascarpone
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