Crêpes Filled with Shrimp, Mushrooms and Spinach in a Creamy Herb Sauce

My sister Susie and I had recently been to one of Sara Moulton’s cooking classes and were inspired to make crêpes. I have made them in the past using what I had on hand – a basic small non-stick skillet and an ordinary turner. But she recommended a fish turner and my sister and I found out that my fish turner worked wonderful! I have used it for pancakes and omelets in the past, but put it to another good use too. My sister had not made crêpes before, but she was an expert in no time even though we had to throw out a couple along on the way, especially the first two. I love making crêpes because they are great for filling with savory ingredients for a meal or sweet ingredients for a dessert. The filling being used is a creamy divine mix of shrimp, mushrooms, spinach and Light Boursin Cheese and 2% milk. So don’t let the name of the recipe fool you, even though it is creamy it is lower in calories and fat than a typical cream sauce. If you prefer asparagus, peas or broccoli to spinach or chicken, crab or lobster to shrimp feel free to fill them up your way! Keep in mind cooking times will vary depending on your substitution. Serves 8 – 10 depending on how much filling you put in the crêpes.

Ingredients

Crêpe Batter
1 1/2 cups of 2% milk
3 eggs
1/4 cup of melted butter (I used salted but if you use unsalted add a pinch of salt.)
1 1/2 cups of flour
Filling
1 lb. of shrimp, shelled, deveined and chopped into bite sized pieces
1/4 cup of olive oil
3 shallots minced about 1/3 of a cup
1 – 8 oz. package of fresh mushrooms cleaned and diced
3 garlic cloves crushed through a garlic press
2 – 5.2 oz container of Light Boursin brand Cheese with Garlic and Fine Herbs
3/4 cup of 2% milk
4 cups of fresh spinach chopped
1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese or more if desired
Dash of Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
Fresh grated parmesan cheese for garnishing

Technique

Make crêpe batter by dumping all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. Set aside and make filling. The batter can be made a couple of hours ahead and refrigerated until ready to use as I had done. Just give it a quick pulse in the blender before making the crêpes. The batter can be made a day ahead of time and refrigerated and/or the crêpes can be made ahead of time and refrigerated for up to 2 days or frozen for up to 1 month. Prep all ingredients so they will be ready to dump into the skillet. In a large deep skillet heat olive oil over medium high heat and add mushrooms and shallots and sauté until mushrooms begin to release there liquid. Add shrimp and sauté until they are pink about 2 minutes. Add garlic and sauté for about 30 seconds. Add both cheeses and milk and mix until cheese has melted and ingredients are well combined. Taste at this point to see if any additional Kosher salt or fresh ground pepper may be needed. Add spinach and sauté until wilted. Turn burner off, cover to keep warm and set aside. Make crêpes, by spraying a crêpe pan or a small non-stick skillet and preheating it over medium high heat. You should be able to feel the heat when you hover your hand over the pan. At this point add about a 1/4 cup of batter and swirl around the pan to cover it. Flip about 30 seconds after adding batter and cook on second side for another 30 seconds. If needed peak under the crêpe to see if it has a golden color. The best tool to use is a fish turner, but use what you have on hand. As an FYI, a crêpe turner is not your best tool. Generally the first couple of crêpes you will have to throw out, unless you are an expert – we (my sister and I) had to throw out the first 2 and a couple others. Place on a plate or platter and continue with remaining crêpes. Ours yielded about 12 crêpe and this will vary depending on how many you have to throw out. Once you have completed making the crêpes, assemble by adding a crêpe to a plate and fill the center of the crêpe with the filling mixture, about 1/2 of a cup. Fold as shown, continue with the reaming crêpes, garnish with fresh grated parmesan cheese and serve immediately.

Suggested Beverage

Try J. Lohr Arroyo Seco Riverstone Chardonnay (California), Bogle Vineyards Chardonnay (California), Wente Vineyards Riva Ranch Chardonnay (Livermore Valley) or an iced tea.