Don't you just love long weekends? That extra Wellington Anniversary Day Monday tacked on to the weekend makes for an all new state of mind! The standing joke about being 'retired' takes on an all new meaning when you run a bed and breakfast. Our 'holiday Monday' had a Very Early Start this morning as our guests needed to be away by 7.30 for the early morning sailing of the Interislander ferry to the South Island. They requested a 6.45am breakfast, which for me means being out of bed at 5.45. I don't cope well with being unprepared and we prep as much as we can the night before, but I need to be composed and un-rushed (is there such a word?) to present breakfast at its best.
Our delightful Swedish guests arrived last night, right in the middle of me cooking dinner. Fortunately it was an easy dinner, a recipe that I had replicated from one of our local restaurants.There is an Italian restaurant just a couple of minutes away from us that we visit frequently called La Bella Italia. It is owned and operated by Antonio Cacase, an Italian with family links to Italy. As well as serving superb authentic Italian food they also sell all manner of delicious produce, delicious cheeses, pastas, meats, oils, you name it. If you need it to make an Italian dish you can get it there.
A year or so ago I tried their Cannelloni de Crespelle. Beautiful light crepes filled with ricotta and spinach on a bed of thick tomato passata. I vowed to try to recreate the recipe at home and achieved a passable imitation. I researched many recipes and came up with one that can be adapted to suit whatever ingredients you may have on hand as a filling for the crepes. Last night I had neither ricotta nor spinach, but did have a little leftover white fish and a small quantity of roast pumpkin. Along with one of the copious supply of courgettes our garden produces and a little of the feta cheese from our last weeks cheesemaking session they combined to make a delicious Sunday night dinner.
I will give you my version of the original recipe with an alternative filling at the end. If you are adapting this for yourself, open the fridge and decide what you need to use up... be original and enjoy creating your own filling.
ITALIAN STYLE CREPES WITH PASSATA:
CREPES:
185g strong flour
450ml milk
3 eggs
salt to taste
Whisk all the ingredients together and let the mixture rest for half an hour before making the crepes. Melt a little butter in a non-stick saucepan. When the butter is sizzling add a scant 1/4 cup of crepe mixture, swirling the pan to cover the base. Shake the pan occasionally until the mixture moves freely, then either toss them (if you dare) or turn carefully with a spatula and cook till the base is set. Continue until all the mixture is used up. Keep them warm on a warmed plate in a 50C degree oven.
PASSATA:
1 can chopped tomatoes (or use fresh tomatoes)
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic chopped finely
1 tspn sugar
salt and pepper to taste
Cook the onion and garlic in a little olive oil and butter till they are beginning to soften, add the tomatoes, sugar and seasoning and simmer over a low heat for about half an hour.
FILLING FOR CREPES:
250g ricotta cheese
pinch of nutmeg
1 egg
1/4 cup Parmesan
1/2 to 1 cup wilted spinach
salt and pepper
Mix all ingredients together well.
TO SERVE:
extra virgin olive oil
parmesan cheese
fresh coriander
Put a third of a cup of filling on to the centre of each crepe and roll up.
Put half a cup of the passata on to a serving plate. Top with two or three crepes and sprinkle with parmesan. Put under a hot grill, 200 degrees Celsius until they are piping hot and nicely browned. Drizzle a little olive oil around the passata and serve with a sprinkling of coriander.
MY ALTERNATIVE FILLING:
half a red onion
1 tspn chopped garlic
1 courgette, grated
1/2 a red or yellow capsicum,
1 chopped tomato
leftover pumpkin
1 tspn fresh oregano
1 egg
black pepper
75g of cooked white fish, (or use chicken, cooked mince, salmon etc)
150g feta cheese, crumbled
Fry the onion and garlic in a little oil for a few minutes until starting to soften. Add the capsicum, tomatoes, courgette, oregano and pepper and allow to cook down until the vegetables are soft.Add the fish or selected filling. Remove from the heat and add the egg. Mix in the feta. Mix together well but don't mash it!
Our delightful Swedish guests arrived last night, right in the middle of me cooking dinner. Fortunately it was an easy dinner, a recipe that I had replicated from one of our local restaurants.There is an Italian restaurant just a couple of minutes away from us that we visit frequently called La Bella Italia. It is owned and operated by Antonio Cacase, an Italian with family links to Italy. As well as serving superb authentic Italian food they also sell all manner of delicious produce, delicious cheeses, pastas, meats, oils, you name it. If you need it to make an Italian dish you can get it there.
A year or so ago I tried their Cannelloni de Crespelle. Beautiful light crepes filled with ricotta and spinach on a bed of thick tomato passata. I vowed to try to recreate the recipe at home and achieved a passable imitation. I researched many recipes and came up with one that can be adapted to suit whatever ingredients you may have on hand as a filling for the crepes. Last night I had neither ricotta nor spinach, but did have a little leftover white fish and a small quantity of roast pumpkin. Along with one of the copious supply of courgettes our garden produces and a little of the feta cheese from our last weeks cheesemaking session they combined to make a delicious Sunday night dinner.I will give you my version of the original recipe with an alternative filling at the end. If you are adapting this for yourself, open the fridge and decide what you need to use up... be original and enjoy creating your own filling.
ITALIAN STYLE CREPES WITH PASSATA:
CREPES:
450ml milk
3 eggs
salt to taste
Whisk all the ingredients together and let the mixture rest for half an hour before making the crepes. Melt a little butter in a non-stick saucepan. When the butter is sizzling add a scant 1/4 cup of crepe mixture, swirling the pan to cover the base. Shake the pan occasionally until the mixture moves freely, then either toss them (if you dare) or turn carefully with a spatula and cook till the base is set. Continue until all the mixture is used up. Keep them warm on a warmed plate in a 50C degree oven.
PASSATA:
1 can chopped tomatoes (or use fresh tomatoes)
1 onion, chopped1 clove garlic chopped finely
1 tspn sugar
salt and pepper to taste
Cook the onion and garlic in a little olive oil and butter till they are beginning to soften, add the tomatoes, sugar and seasoning and simmer over a low heat for about half an hour.
FILLING FOR CREPES:
250g ricotta cheese
pinch of nutmeg
1 egg
1/4 cup Parmesan
1/2 to 1 cup wilted spinach
salt and pepper
Mix all ingredients together well.
TO SERVE:
extra virgin olive oil
parmesan cheese
fresh coriander
Put a third of a cup of filling on to the centre of each crepe and roll up.
Put half a cup of the passata on to a serving plate. Top with two or three crepes and sprinkle with parmesan. Put under a hot grill, 200 degrees Celsius until they are piping hot and nicely browned. Drizzle a little olive oil around the passata and serve with a sprinkling of coriander.
MY ALTERNATIVE FILLING:
half a red onion
1 tspn chopped garlic
1 courgette, grated
1/2 a red or yellow capsicum,
1 chopped tomato
leftover pumpkin
1 tspn fresh oregano
1 egg
black pepper
75g of cooked white fish, (or use chicken, cooked mince, salmon etc)
150g feta cheese, crumbled
Fry the onion and garlic in a little oil for a few minutes until starting to soften. Add the capsicum, tomatoes, courgette, oregano and pepper and allow to cook down until the vegetables are soft.Add the fish or selected filling. Remove from the heat and add the egg. Mix in the feta. Mix together well but don't mash it!
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