makes about 20 crespelle
Notes
Crespelle, Italian crêpes, are one of the most versatile recipes in the kitchen. You can use them shredded in soups, layered in lasagna, stuffed and rolled in manicotti, or baked with vegetables and pesto, and if you add some sugar to the batter, you can make endless forms of dessert with them. My favorite dessert rendition is to slather them with some rose hip jam, roll them into cigars, and eat them. I could not get enough of them in my childhood. I like to make a big batch of crespelle—once you get going, they are done in no time, and you can freeze or refrigerate the extras.
Ingredients
- 3 large eggs
- 2 cups milk
- 1 cup cold water, plus more as needed
- 1/2 cup club soda, chilled
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled, plus more melted butter for cooking the crêpes
- 1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
Directions
In a large bowl, combine the eggs, milk, water, and club soda, and whisk well. Add the flour and salt, and mix just to combine—don’t overmix. Stir in the 6 tablespoons melted butter and lemon zest. If you’re new to making crespelle, you can stop here. I like my batter a bit thinner, but the crespelle are a little harder to handle with a thin batter. As you get experienced, thin the batter out with a bit more water, a little at a time, until you are a master of very thin crespelle. Do not add more than 2 cups total, including the original water and club soda.
To cook the crespelle: Heat a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat, and brush it with melted butter. When the skillet is hot and the butter is sizzling, with the skillet in one hand, pour in a scant 1/4 cup batter and immediately rotate the skillet to coat the bottom of the pan evenly and quickly with the batter. Set the pan back on the heat, and cook until the crêpe is golden on the underside and the edges begin to curl from the sides of the pan, about 1 minute or so. Flip, and cook the other side, 30 seconds to a minute more. Remove to a plate.
Continue with the remaining batter, brushing the skillet with melted butter each time, and stacking the crespelle on the plate.
