Baked Savory Crêpe Gratin with Spinach and Ricotta
- Sweet & savory
- Oven
Thin oven-baked crêpes layered with creamy ricotta, spinach and tomato passata, topped with bubbling mozzarella. A comforting savory bake for la Chandeleur.
- Total
- 80 min
- Prep 25 · Cook 45 · Rest 10
- Serves
- 4
- Difficulty
- Medium
You'll practice: Whisking · Folding
Instructions
-
Heat the oven to 200°C. Whisk 150 g flour and 0.5 tsp salt in a large mixing bowl, make a well, add 2 eggs and 60 ml water, and whisk to a thick paste. Gradually whisk in 350 ml milk until the batter is smooth and thin like cream.
~8 min
Whisking the milk in gradually breaks up lumps, so the batter stays smooth and pours thinly enough to spread into delicate crêpes.
Whisking Whisk in a circular motion from the centre out, adding the milk gradually, until the batter is glossy and lump-free; a few stubborn lumps mean you poured too fast.
-
Brush the oven-safe skillet with a little of the 2 tbsp oil and heat it in the oven for 5 minutes. Pour in about 60 ml batter, swirl to coat the base thinly, and bake for 6 minutes until set and lightly golden at the edges. Flip and bake 2 minutes more. Slide onto a plate and repeat with the remaining batter and oil to make 8 crêpes.
~13 min
Preheating the oiled skillet in the oven means the batter sets on contact, giving a thin, even crêpe instead of a pale, floppy one.
-
While step 2 cooks
While the crêpes bake, put 250 g spinach in a bowl, cover, and let it wilt in the oven for 4 minutes. Squeeze out excess moisture with a clean cloth, then chop roughly.
~4 min
Squeezing out the water keeps the ricotta filling firm, so the finished gratin doesn't turn loose and weepy.
Squeeze the wilted spinach really dry; trapped water makes the ricotta layer loose and the gratin weepy.
-
While step 2 cooks
Mix the chopped spinach with 250 g ricotta, 0.25 tsp black pepper and a pinch of salt. Tear 200 g mozzarella into small pieces.
~4 min
Folding Fold the spinach into the ricotta gently with a spatula, lifting and turning rather than stirring, so the mixture stays light and doesn't compact.
-
Spread 100 ml tomato passata over the base of the baking dish. Lay a crêpe on top, spread with a spoonful of the ricotta mixture, and repeat, finishing with a crêpe. Pour the remaining 300 ml tomato passata over the top and scatter over the mozzarella.
~6 min
A layer of passata on the bottom stops the crêpes sticking and burning, and the top passata keeps the mozzarella moist as it melts.
-
Bake for 20 minutes until the mozzarella is melted and browned in spots and the passata bubbles at the edges. Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting.
~30 min
Standing lets the layers firm up as they cool slightly, so the portions hold their shape when cut.
Let the baked gratin stand before cutting so the layers firm up and the portions hold their shape.
