Crespelles with Asparagus, Goat Cheese and Mushrooms

I love the weekends.

It gives me time for "me."

Date at home with the hubs, lunch with a sweet friend, work in the yard, shop by myself, and spend hours cooking something I wouldn't normally attempt on a weeknight. Ahh, the joys of weekends!

Sunday, Keith's family came over for brunch/lunch.

It was just lovely.

We had fresh fruit and crespelles, or crepes.

This is another recipe I got from being at my sister and brother-in-law's house. I should be their cooking understudy. I'd leave with so much knowledge!

Crespelles with Asparagus, Goat Cheese, and Mushrooms

(credit: Williams-Sonoma Pasta cookbook)

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Ingredients for Crespelle batter:

1 cup flour

3 eggs

1 1/2 cups milk

3 Tbsp olive oil

pinch of salt

grated zest of one lemon

Combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender.

Let sit 30 minutes.

Ingredients for the rest of the meal:

Extra virgin olive oil

2 lb thick asparagus spears

Salt and fresh ground pepper

Grated zest of one lemon

3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1/2 lb fresh mushrooms, thinly sliced

1/4 cup dry vermouth

1 1/2 cups goat cheese

Large pinch of freshly grated nutmeg (I didn't have fresh and we lived)

Large handful fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, coarsley chopped

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/2-3/4 cup heavy cream

1 Tbsp truffle oil (not totally necessary, the stuff is pricey!)

While the crespelle batter was sitting, I prepared all other ingredients for cooking. This involved making a huge mess of the asparagus, getting them trimmed and peeled of rough parts!

Place on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt & pepper to taste and the zest of one lemon. Place in oven at 425 for 15 minutes, or until tender when tested with a fork.

As soon as I put those in the oven, I made the crespelles:

In my smallest pan (8 inches), I heated a heaping teaspoon of olive oil over medium-high heat. Stir the oil around to coat. Pour about 3 Tbsp batter into pan and rotate pan to allow it spread to the edges. Once the edges start to brown, flip it over. This is very similar to cooking an omelet. Use those flipping skills! Add a little bit of olive oil before each crepe, just a bit!

It took about 1.5 minutes for each crepe. This recipe made a total of 10 crepes for me using the 8 inch pan.

This was the first one I did. The rest were better, but I got distracted so the pictures from this point on are lacking!

Once all the crepes are done, and the asparagus has likely come out of the oven by now, you are going to cook the mushrooms.

In a frying pan over medium heat, warm 3 Tbsp olive oil. Add garlic, mushrooms and salt & pepper to taste. Saute until mushrooms are tender and just starting to give off liquid, about 5 minutes.

Add vermouth and boil until almost evaporated.

In a mixing bowl, combine goat cheese, nutmeg, half of the parsley, 2 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese. Season with salt & pepper. Add in the mushrooms when they are ready. Mix together well.

Lightly oil a 9x13 baking dish. Spread the cheese mixture into crepe and place 4-5 asparagus spears in center, roll crepe and place seam-side-down in the dish. You should be able to fit all your crepes into the baking dish nicely.

Next, pour the heavy cream over the top and sprinkle with remaining grated Parmesan cheese.

Place in oven (425), bake until bubbling, about 15 minutes.

Drizzle with truffle oil (omg, delicious) and sprinkle with remaining parsley.

Okay, okay, I know that recipe seems complicated and there are a handful of ingredients that you're not likely to keep on hand. But, TRUST ME, friends, this one is worth the extra effort. It is outstanding!

I told Keith I felt like it was one of the best things I've ever made. He agrees :)

What did you enjoy most about your weekend?