Perfect Italiano Cheese: Part 3: Crepes with Ricotta Filling & Bitter Orange Sauce
ANOTHER ricotta recipe? Yes. And trust me, there will be at least 1 more after this one! Using Perfect Italiano Ricotta!
Look in the background of this cheese photo and you will see what my crepes were meant to look like. Look below and you can see some not so photogenic crepes. However, they were still delicious! The delicious creamy ricotta filling with sultanas, lemon zest and vanilla, goes extremely well with the crepe and bitter orange sauce. I would definitely makes these again, but make them better looking!
Crepes with Ricotta Filling & Bitter Orange Sauce
Bill Granger
Crepes:
90g (3/4 cup) plain flour
1 egg, lightly beaten
250ml (1 cup) milk
20g butter, melted
a pinch of salt
extra butter, for greasing the pan
Filling:
2 tablespoons milk
2 tablespoons sultanas
250g (1 cup) ricotta cheese
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1 1/2 teaspoons icing sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Bitter Orange Sauce:
80g (1/4 cup) good-quality orange marmalade
60ml (1/4 cup) orange juice
1 tablespoon brandy, or Grand Marnier (optional)
1. To prepare the crepes, put the flour in a large bowl, add the egg, milk, melted butter and salt and whisk until smooth. Refrigerate for 2 hours before cooking.
2. While the crepe batter is resting, prepare the filling by heating the milk and sultanas in a small saucepan over a low heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool for 4 minutes. Transfer the milk and sultanas to a bowl, add the ricotta, lemon zest, icing sugar and vanilla extract and stir to combine.
3. Heat a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat and brush a little butter over the base. Ladle 2 tablespoons of batter into the pan and tip the pan slightly to quickly and evenly spread the batter. After a minute, lift the outer edge of the crepe and flip it over and cook for a couple of seconds on the other side. Repeat with remaining batter.
4. Make the bitter orange sauce: put the marmalade, orange juice and brandy or Grand Marnier, if using, in a small saucepan over a low heat and stir until the marmalade has melted.
5. Place a heaped tablespoon of filling in the centre of each crepe. Fold the crepe into quarters (crepes can be made in advance to this stage). Heat a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat and brush with butter. Put the filled and folded crepes into the pan and cook for about 30 seconds on each side. Place two crepes on each serving plate, dust with icing sugar and drizzle with sauce.
Serves 4.