CRÊPES SOUFFLÉES WITH MUSHROOMS

SOURCE: ANDRÉ SOLTNER AND SEYMOUR BRITCHKY. THE LUTÈCE COOKBOOK .

A gratin of crêpes filled with spoonfuls of cheese and mushroom soufflé turns any meal into a memorable stuff of legends, be it a Sunday family brunch, a weekday luncheon, or a weekend dinner party at home. Certainly, there is an indescribable energy at work when two distinct French culinary elements of (not-so) serious trepidation synergize into a first course imbued with savory rich enticement. Among numerous recipes of crêpe soufflées available in the public domain, The Michelin Guide picked this impressive one from André Soltner’s fabled Lutèce of Manhattan with a rave endorsement in 2020 even if the former did not have the opportunity to confer the latter with coveted stars due to mere technicality of the restaurant closing permanently a year before food critics from the tire company published the first edition for its American series.

Ingredients

Crêpes

1 cup/120 grams all-purpose flour

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon/6 grams salt

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

1/2 cup/120 mL whole milk, plus more if needed

1/3 cup/80 mL water

3 tablespoons/45 mL melted unsalted butter

1 tablespoon/3 grams finely chopped flat-leaf parsley, preferably picked fresh on the same day for best results

Mushroom Soufflé Batter

3 tablespoons/28 grams unsalted butter

1/2 cup/48 grams sliced mushrooms, wild OR cultivated

1 cup/240 mL whole milk

2 tablespoons/15 grams all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon/2 grams salt

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

4 large eggs, separated

1/4 cup/25 grams grated Gruyère OR Emmental cheese

8 thin slices ham

Nutmeg

1 cup/240 mL cream

3/4 cup/75 grams grated Gruyère OR Emmental cheese

OPTIONAL: Candied mushrooms for garnish

Specific Equipment

2 large mixing bowls

Wire whisk

Nonstick skillet or sauté pan with a diameter of 6 inches/15 cm

Pastry brush

Ladle

Plate

Small saucepan

Deep-bottomed saucepan

Hand mixer equipped with a whisk attachment

Spatula

Heavily buttered gratin dish large enough to hold 8 crêpes when folded in half

Grater

Serves 4

Instructions

1. Beat the flour, eggs, salt, pepper in a large mixing bowl with a wire whisk until well-blended. Whisk in the milk and water until the batter is smooth. Stir in 2 tablespoons/30 mL melted butter and parsley until well-blended. Adjust the consistency of the crêpe batter by thinning with few tablespoons of milk, if necessary. Set aside and let the batter rest for at least 10 minutes before using.

2. Brush a nonstick skillet with some of the melted butter and set over medium heat. Spoon in the crêpe batter with a ladle, covering the entire bottom and cook for 1 minutes or until the bottom of the crêpe has browned lightly. Flip the crêpe over the other side and cook for 30 seconds or until this side has also browned lightly. Transfer the finished crêpe to a plate. Repeat this step for the remaining batter until a total of 8 crêpes have piled on the plate. Set the crêpes aside and keep warm.

3. Melt 1 tablespoon/15 grams butter on a nonstick skillet set over medium heat. Sauté in the mushrooms, for 5 to 8 minutes or until the mushrooms have browned and dried but still tender. Set aside.

4. Pour the milk into a small saucepan set over low heat and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat and set aside.

5. Melt 2 tablespoons/30 grams butter on a deep-bottomed saucepan set over medium heat. Whisk in the flour until well-blended and cook for 2 minutes or until the mixture forms a thick paste. Do not brown the mixture.

6. Remove the saucepan from heat and pour in the milk, continuously whisking until the paste has completely dissolves and the mixture is smooth and well-blended. Return the saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil, constantly whisking for 5 minutes or until the mixture has thickened. Season with salt and pepper.

7. Beat in the egg yolks, one by one, and cook for 1 minute, constantly whisking, or until well-blended and smooth. Remove the saucepan from heat and stir in the grated Gruyère or Emmental cheese and sautéed mushrooms until well-blended. Set aside.

8. Beat the egg whites in another large mixing bowl with a hand mixer equipped with a whisk attachment until stiff peaks form. Scrape out one-third of the egg whites with a spatula and fold it into the mushroom soufflé mixture to lighten the batter. Turn the lightened mushroom soufflé mixture into the egg whites and fold gently and thoroughly until well-blended. Set the soufflé batter aside.

9. Preheat oven to 300°F/150°C.

10. Place a slice of ham over a piece of crêpe. Spoon an eighth of the soufflé batter over the ham and spread gently so as not to deflate the batter. Fold the crêpe in half and place in a heavily buttered gratin dish. Repeat this step for the remaining crêpes and fit all of them snugly into the gratin dish.

11. Grate a light sprinkling of nutmeg over each crêpe. Pour the cream over the crêpes and sprinkle the top with grated Gruyère or Emmental cheese.

12. Bake for 15 minutes or until the cheese has melted and the cream is bubbling.

13. Remove the gratin dish from the oven and transfer two crêpes on individual serving plates. Garnish with candied mushrooms, if desired.