THREE GENERATIONS OF BEAUTIFUL LADIES IN THE KITCHEN

In order from left to right: Hanna, Michelle, Susan. Hard to say which is the mother!

They love to cook and they wanted to challenge themselves with a "techniques" day: pasteurization of eggs, bechamelle, crepes and much more. Below, one of the dishes they made.

THANK YOU FOR COMING AT GIGLIOCOOKING!

CRESPELLE ALLA FIORENTINA DI CATERINA DEI MEDICI

FLORENTINE CRESPELLE OF CATERINA DE MEDICI STYLE

Ingredients for crepes:

150 gr ( 5 oz ) flour

375 ml ( 1 + ½ cup) milk

3 eggs

a little spoon of salt

butter for the frying pan

Beat  the eggs in a bowl, wisk in the four, the salt. Pour the milk into the batter slowly wisking continuously. Set for an half of hour.

Melt a little nut of butter in a not-sticking pan, spread in a ladle of batter and cook on both sides.

Ingredients for the filling:

400 gr ( 13 oz ) spinach

200 gr ( 7 oz ) fresh ricotta cheese

salt, pepper and nutmeg

45 gr ( 1 + ½ oz ) grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese

1 garlic clove

45 gr ( 1+ ½ oz ) extra virgin olive oil

Rise well the spinach. In a large brown the garlic in the extra virgin oil. Toss in  the raw spinach, salt and cook  with a lid for a few minutes, until they are soft. Then drain, cool and squeeze out the excess water. Chop them. Then mix with ricotta cheese, Parmigiano Reggiano cheese. pepper and nutmeg.

Ingredients for sauce:

25 gr ( - 1 oz ) flour

50 gr ( - 2 oz ) extra virgin olive oil or butter

1 / 2 L  milk

45 gr ( 1 + ½ oz ) grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese

salt, pepper and nutmeg

Heat the extra virgin olive oil and add flour mixing. Add the milk, previously haeted, to the mixture all at once and simmer for about 2 minutes. Add salt, pepper, nutmeg and Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.

Put the filling in each crepe. Grease a fire-resistant glass pan, continuing to stir,  with butter and lay down them. Cover with the sauce and Parmigiano Reggiano cheese (if you wish you can add also some mozzarella cheese little cubes). Cook  in a oven at 220° C degrees until the surface will be golden. 

Note:

Caterina brough the Salsa Colla – a white sauce made with butter, flour and milk in the proportions of 1 – 1 -10 – to France in 1533. This sauce took the name of Bechamelle in 1703; the name was given by La Varenne. With this name it was re-introduced in Italy, where it took the name of Balsanella. This name sounded like the French Bechamelle. Besides the sauce, for its consistence, resembled a balsam, from which “balsanella”.