This is at once complex and simple. You've got to make a lot of nearly identically sized crêpes, of course. And the vegetables must be chopped or sliced thinly and cooked separately; I also took it upon myself to very thoroughly pat them dry so that the crêpes didn't get soggy, although the writer of the recipe that inspired this didn't seem to think it was a big deal.
As if that weren't enough, you've got to layer the crepes and vegetables with cheese. I used ricotta and mozzarella. Then it still has to bake covered for a half hour to forty-five minutes and uncovered for about another ten minutes. But aside from the crêpe-making, there are no technically challenging steps, especially if you've got a springform pan. Which I don't.
It's picturesque and delicious, and to me, that's worth a little extra effort. Here is the recipe that inspired my version. I used eggplant, onions, garlic, red bell pepper, basil, and zucchini, and the cheeses, as mentioned, were ricotta and mozzarella. Andy pointed out that while the eggplant is delicious, it's harder to cut than the equally meaty mushrooms; I'm convinced. Mark Bittman's crêpe recipe is my favorite, but really, I doubt it matters much, so do what you will on that front. Serve this with a simple lettuce and tomato salad (or with kale salad, as we did tonight).
Since it's Andy's last night here, I made Mark Bittman's frozen honey mousse, topping it with mango and sprinkling it with cardamom. This is an amazing, amazing dessert. Amazing. Did you hear that? Amazing. I could stand to reduce the sugar somewhat, but Andy applauded the current degree of sweetness.
And then of course I had to use the resultant leftover egg yolks, so I made chocolate pudding. Four courses, two of them desserts? Yes, please.
No comments:
Post a Comment