Stuffed Pancakes with Bolognese Sauce

Step 1 : The Preparation

To make the pancake batter, put the flour and salt in a bowl. Make a well in the center and gradually pour in 500 ml of milk. Stir the batter until smooth, then add the eggs one at a time. Stir vigorously one more time, cover the pancake batter, and let it rest for half an hour.

Step 2 : The Ragù

Now prepare the Italian ragù. Finely chop the onion, carrot, and celery, and cut the pancetta into small pieces. Then sauté everything together with a little tomato paste in olive oil. Next, add the ground meat and brown it over high heat. Deglaze with white wine and let it reduce. Now just add the chunky tomatoes and vegetable broth. Now it’s time to wait: Let it simmer for at least 2 hours, then add milk, salt, and pepper at the end. Molto facile!

In this recipe for Italian ragù, you’ll learn more about how to make the sauce.

Tip

WHEN YOU'RE IN A HURRY

Don't have time to make ragù? No problem. You can also easily make the pancakes with 1–2 cans of ORO di Parma Oregano Pizza Sauce or Spicy Pizza Sauce. This version is also perfect for vegetarians! It cuts the prep time by about an hour.

Step 3 : The Cheese Filling

Is your sauce ready? Wonderful! Now you can grate the Parmesan. You’ll need half of it for the gratin and the other half for the filling. Now crumble the ricotta, cut the mozzarella into small pieces, and mix everything together with the Parmesan for the filling. Then take a large baking dish and grease it with a little olive oil.

Step 4 : Crespelle

To make the crespelle, heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat and lightly brush it with butter. Pour in a small amount of batter until the bottom is thinly coated. Let the bottom cook until golden brown—this takes about a minute. Flip it over and remove it from the pan after another minute. Stack the finished crespelle on top of each other on a plate. Once you’ve used up about half of the batter, it’s time to preheat the oven to 200 °C (gas: mark 3).

Step 5 : Baking Under the Broiler

Spread about 1 tablespoon of the cheese filling on each crespella, leaving a 1-cm border. Fold each pancake first into a semicircle, then into a quarter circle, and layer them in the baking dish—not completely on top of each other, but in an overlapping, roof-tile pattern. Spread your Bolognese ragù or pizza sauce over the top, sprinkle everything with Parmesan, and drizzle a little olive oil over it. Bake the Crespelle Bolognese in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes.

Tip

STORING CRESPELLE IN THE REFRIGERATOR

You can store the fried but unfilled crespelle in the refrigerator for about three days.

Step 6 : The Finale

When the cheese is yellowish-brown and the tomatoes in the sauce are bubbling gently, your crespelle are ready. Take them out of the oven—and serve them up!