On Christmas Eve, I shared my plan on how to make my holiday meals both memorable and manageable by myself. Several of those items were pre-established recipes that I’ve loved over the years, but true to me exploratory nature, I had to take a crack at trying something new, as well.
Thus, as my gift to you, I present the first of two recipes I designed for the day that ended up working out rather well. Without taking a lot of time, effort, or clean up, I hope you’ll find both as lovely as I did.
Basic Florentine-Style Crêpes
Makes 3-4 crêpes, prep time 20 minutes
Background
Sure, you can make your own French crêpes for this recipe, and I might try my hand at them next time. For the sake of speed and convenience, however, I bought a pack of the basic grocery store variety you can find in the produce section. Much higher quality pre-made brands exist, but not that I could find during the busy season (plus current supply issues).
Overall, the idea here was to have a quick go-to in my pocket that could easily be adapted by adding, say, artichokes, rotisserie chicken, a fried egg, or even smoked salmon to the final product.
During market season, I could easily see adding chopped squash or peppers with fresh seasonal herbs. More of a cheese fan? Swap out some of the cream cheese for finely grated Gruyere.
Ingredients
- 2 Tbs unsalted butter
- 2 egg whites
- 1 c frozen spinach, thawed per package directions
- 4 oz cream cheese, softened
- 1/4 tsp paprika
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 1/4 c parmesan cheese, grated
- Store-bought French crêpes
Directions
1) In a medium saucepan, melt the butter on medium-low heat, and then add egg whites, stirring frequently with a cooking spoon or spatula to scramble.
2) Once egg whites are almost completely opaque, about 60-90 seconds, add the thawed spinach, stirring to combine.
3) Add cream cheese, paprika, and nutmeg. Continue stirring. Once the cheese has completely melted and blended with the spinach, mix in grated parmesan cheese. Taste, and then add salt and pepper as desired.
4) Remove saucepan from heat and transfer filling immediately to a fridge-safe container. This will make it easier to clean the saucepan and save any leftovers you might have.
5) Unroll a crêpe and place on a plate. Warm if necessary in the microwave, 10-15 seconds on high or using package directions (note: the crêpes I bought were super thin, so I used two for a serving). Spoon about 3-4 tablespoons of filling in a line down the center of the crêpe. Roll to seal and place seam-side down on the plate. Repeat with additional servings as needed.
6) Crêpes work well alongside green salads, fish, or on their own, and are best served warm.
Store any leftover filling in the fridge for up to three days. Add filling to crêpes using step 5 and warm for 30-45 seconds on high in the microwave prior to serving.
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