Crêpes with béchamel, Gruyère cheese and ham
These delicate crêpes ooze with Gruyère cheese and béchamel sauce – add good quality ham and a hint of nutmeg, if preferred
INGREDIENTS
MAKES FOUR CRÊPES
100g plain flour
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
2 beaten eggs
200ml full fat milk
2-3 slices chopped good quality deli ham
50g grated Gruyère cheese
FOR THE BÉCHAMEL SAUCE
25g unsalted butter
25g plain flour
300ml cold full fat milk
Pinch of nutmeg
METHOD
FOR THE CRÊPES
Make the batter ahead to allow one hour of resting time for the gluten to relax.
In a bowl, sieve the flour. Add 1 teaspoon of salt and whisk.
Make a well in the centre of the bowl and add the beaten eggs, slowly incorporating the flour (don’t whisk all the flour in one go).
Add the milk, gradually whisking. Incorporate the flour slowly – with a little patience you will have a silky-smooth batter without lumps.
If you do have lumps, that’s ok, just pass it through a sieve.
FOR THE BÉCHAMEL SAUCE
Warm your pan to medium heat.
Add the butter. When the butter starts to melt, add the flour and cook out the flour for 2-3 minutes.
Add 100ml of the cold milk and whisk into a creamy texture without lumps. If you have lumps, take off the heat and keep whisking until the lumps have disappeared, return the pan to the heat and add another 100ml of milk, whisking thoroughly. Add the remaining milk and whisk until the sauce is thick and glossy.
Take off the heat.
Add salt and pepper and a pinch of nutmeg.
Add the grated Gruyère cheese and chopped ham.
COOKING THE CRÊPES
Heat your pan medium heat. With a heat-resistant silicone brush, coat the pan with the softened butter for greasing. This will prevent the crêpes from sticking to the pan.
With a ladle, pour the batter mixture into the middle of the pan and swirl the pan in a circular motion. The batter should be very thin.
When the crêpes starts to turn golden on the edges, you can flip them in the pan or use a spatula to flip the crêpes.
Place the crêpes on a plate. In the centre of the crêpes, place a large scoop of the bechamel cheese and ham filling. Fold in half and then into a triangle.
Serve immediately.
You can refrigerate leftover crêpes. Let them cool, layer each crêpe on parchment paper and wrap in in an airtight container. Refrigerate for up to 3 days.