Description
A delicious and wholesome Spinach Crespolini recipe featuring wholemeal spelt flour pancakes filled with a creamy spinach and ricotta mixture, topped with a smooth tomato and basil sauce, baked to golden perfection and served alongside a fresh rocket and cherry tomato salad.
Ingredients
Scale
Pancake Batter
- 50g spelt wholemeal flour
- 1 egg
- 100ml milk
- ½ tsp rapeseed oil
Spinach Filling
- 250g baby spinach
- Generous grating of nutmeg
- 1 large garlic clove, finely grated
- 80g ricotta
- 2 tbsp vegetarian Italian-style hard cheese, finely grated
Tomato Sauce
- 400g can chopped tomatoes
- 10g basil
- ½ tsp vegetable bouillon powder
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 2 tsp balsamic vinegar
Salad
- 1 small red onion (about 80g), finely chopped
- 80g diced celery
- 3 handfuls of rocket
- 160g cherry tomatoes
Instructions
- Prepare the Pancake Batter: Whisk together the spelt wholemeal flour and egg in a bowl. Gradually whisk in the milk until you achieve a smooth, pancake-style batter. Pour the batter into a jug for easy pouring.
- Cook the Pancakes: Heat the rapeseed oil in a 19cm non-stick pan over medium heat. Pour in a quarter of the batter and swirl to cover the base evenly. Cook briefly until the pancake is just set, then flip carefully using a palette knife and cook the other side until lightly golden. Transfer to a plate and repeat with the remaining batter to make a total of four pancakes.
- Prepare the Spinach Filling: Heat a large non-stick pan over medium heat. Add the baby spinach, nutmeg, and finely grated garlic clove, stirring continuously with a wooden spoon for about 5 minutes until the spinach is fully wilted. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. Beat in the ricotta until well combined.
- Fill and Roll the Pancakes: Spoon a quarter of the spinach and ricotta filling down the center of each pancake. Roll each pancake up tightly into a sausage shape and arrange them snugly in an ovenproof dish.
- Make the Tomato Sauce: In a bowl or blender jug, combine the canned chopped tomatoes, basil, vegetable bouillon powder, and crushed garlic clove. Blitz with a hand blender or jug blender until the sauce is completely smooth. Pour this sauce over the filled pancakes in the dish. Sprinkle the grated vegetarian Italian-style hard cheese evenly over the top.
- Bake the Crespolini: Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan) or Gas mark 6. Bake the pancakes in the oven for 30 minutes until the sauce is bubbling and the cheese on top is browned.
- Prepare the Salad: Combine the finely chopped red onion and diced celery in a bowl with the balsamic vinegar. Just before serving, toss this mixture with the rocket and cherry tomatoes.
- Serve: Plate the baked spinach crespolini and serve them alongside the fresh rocket and cherry tomato salad for a complete meal.
Notes
- For a smoother sauce, blitz thoroughly until no tomato chunks remain.
- You can substitute ricotta with cottage cheese or a soft cheese of choice.
- Be sure to cook the pancakes on medium heat to avoid burning and to ensure even cooking.
- The vegetarian Italian-style hard cheese can be substituted with Parmesan or Grana Padano if preferred.
- This recipe can be made ahead and reheated in the oven before serving.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Italian
Keywords: Spinach Crespolini, spinach pancakes, vegetarian Italian recipe, baked spinach ricotta pancakes, healthy spinach meal
