Cornmeal Crêpes with Strawberries, Mascarpone, and Rosemary
The Tasting Kitchen Venice Beach, CA
Casey Lane made these delicious crêpes for his Beard House dinner in May of 2011.
Ingredients
- 1 pound strawberries, hulled and quartered
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
- 2 1/2 teaspoons dry pectin
- 3 tablespoons butter, plus more for cooking crêpes
- 1 1/4 cup milk
- 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons pastry flour, divided
- 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons cornmeal
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 eggs at room temperature
- 1 cup mascarpone
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- Pinch nutmeg
To serve:
- Butter
- Rosemary leaves from 1 stalk
Method
To make the strawberry conserva, place the strawberries, sugar, water, and lemon juice in a stainless steel pan. Bring to boil, then slowly whisk in the pectin. Cook just until thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool for 20 minutes. Refrigerate overnight.
To make the crêpes, melt the butter in a small pan. Continue to cook over low heat until the butter is light brown and has a nutty aroma. Remove from heat and set aside.
Blend the milk and 5 tablespoons of the pastry flour in a food processer until smooth. Add the remaining flour, cornmeal, and salt and blend until smooth. Add the eggs one at a time, blending after each addition. Slowly stream in the brown butter while blending. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
To cook the crêpes, heat a wide pan over medium-high heat. Melt a small amount of butter in the pan; swirl the pan so that the butter covers its entire surface. Pour a half cup of batter into the pan and swirl to form a thin crêpe. Cook until golden brown, about 1 minute. Transfer to a large plate. Repeat until all the batter has been used.
Mix together the mascarpone, sugar, and nutmeg in a medium-sized mixing bowl and set aside.
Melt some butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the rosemary leaves and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the rosemary to a plate lined with paper towels.
Fill each crêpe with as much strawberry conserve as desired and fold. Top with a scoop of mascarpone and fried rosemary leaves.
Yield
6 to 8 servings