Crespelle

Crespelle Italian crepes or Manicotti pancakes is a very delicious dish. I like this dish very much and I have it recipe for you today ;)

For the crepes:

Whole milk 250 ml
Flour 150 grams
Eggs 2 large
Salt and sugar 1 pinch
Vegetable oil (a little bit)

For the tomato sauce:

Olive oil ¼ cup
finely chopped onions 1/2 cups
celery stalk (chopped) 1
cloves of garlic (minced) 4
water ½ cup
finely chopped parsley 1 tbsp
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

8 fresh basil leaves, chopped (1/2 teaspoon dried)
2 -28-ounce cans Italian plum tomatoes (crushed)

For the filling (Manicotti):

fresh spinach, stemmed and finely chopped 4 cups
coarsely grated mozzarella cheese or grated provolone cheese 2 cups
freshly grated sharp Parmesan or Romano cheese ½ cup
ricotta cheese 3 pounds
nutmeg ¼ tsp.
eggs 2
finely chopped parsley, salt and freshly ground pepper to taste 2 tbsp.

For the crepes: First, put all ingredients in a mixing bowl and blend with a stick blender until the batter is smooth. Grease slightly a non-stick pan and apply the batter. Then, flip the crepe when one side is light brown.

For the sauce: Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan. Add the onions, celery and garlic and sauté until the onions are almost translucent. Then, add the basil and stir. Add crushed tomatoes and water simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally and adding parsley near end of cooking time.

For the fillings: Mix all ingredients in the mixing bowl.

Prepare: Spread a cup or two of sauce over the bottom of a large shallow glass baking dish.

To assemble: First, put a large spoonful or two of the filling on each crespelle and roll it up. Place the filled pancakes close together in a single layer in the glass baking dish (that we spread a tomato sauce over it bottom). Then, cover the crespelle with a tomato sauce and bake for 30 minutes or until the manicottis are piping hot throughout.

Enjoy Crespelle everybody ;)