The crepes, a real goodness. Italian dish of relatively recent acquisition, which reaches the cuisine of our country directly from neighboring France where the crepes or, to put it in French, the pancakes, are a traditional dish of the French gastronomy. Sweet or savory, with different variations, they have spread throughout Europe both for the relative speed of execution and for the versatility. With sweet, savory fillings, with buckwheat flour in the dough. This latter version is less common in Italy but typical of north-western France, in particular the region of Brittany where the savory crêpe, with various accompaniments based on meats, vegetables, cheeses, salmon, are called galette. Also in a sweet version, traditionally France wins with its Crêpe Suzette invented by the French chef Auguste Escoffier that, in 1903, a filling based on orange sauce was conceived. This refined dessert then involves passing the crepe over the flame by sprinkling it with an orange-based liqueur.
The recipe for crepes with radicchio and gorgonzola
Let's go back to the crepes, an excellent and refined Italian first course. In their many variations, crepes find a particularly successful combination when stuffed with gorgonzola and radicchio. Needless to say, these two ingredients immediately make you think of a typical dish from northern Italy. Because gorgonzola and radicchio are products, respectively, typical of Lombard and Venetian gastronomy. Do we want to prepare the pancakes with radicchio and gorgonzola? Let's start with the crêpes dough. By the way, it seems that this name derives from the Latin crispus, curled, as these light omelettes look like, which once cooked have a slightly crepe edge.
The crêpes are made with simple ingredients: eggs, milk, salt, flour, to obtain a very liquid and smooth dough. This preparation is left to rest and moved on to the filling. It begins by melting the gorgonzola into pieces in a pan together with the milk until it becomes creamy. Then salt and pepper are added. At this point it is enriched with the Treviso radicchio leaves cut into pieces, whose bitter taste goes well with that of milk and gorgonzola. It is left to dry for about ten minutes. In the meantime, let's cook the pancakes, greasing the bottom of a non-stick pan with butter. With a little patience, one ladle after another, you prepare the omelettes, browning them first on one side then on the other, a couple of minutes per side are enough. However, they must be very thin but must not break. Then they are stuffed, folded into a crescent and then in half again to obtain a small fan. They are placed in the greased pan, melted butter and Parmesan cheese are added, they are cooked in the oven for about ten minutes.
From Rome to France the crêpes, or pancakes or omelettes, prepared by the chefs of Pope Gelasius
Regarding the French origin of crêpes, legend has it that the true authorship of this dish would be rather Italian. In fact, the Vatican cooks would have prepared them on the recommendation of Pope Gelasius (we are in the 2th century AD) to feed a group of French pilgrims visiting Rome on the occasion of the feast of Our Lady of Candlemas, on February XNUMX. The pilgrims appreciated them very much and took the recipe to France where it was very successful. All time in France, according to tradition, on the occasion of the Candlemas crêpes are prepared and it is customary to make a wish every time you turn the omelette in a pan. Today crepes are also very popular for their neutral flavor which allows them to be offered in many versions. They are born round but are presented in the shape of a crescent, fan, cannelloni and why not, even as a refined package. According to the fillings, the tastes and the pleasure of offering them.
