Manfrigole are consolation meals from Valtellina, a valley within the North of Italy close to Switzerland. I encountered them for the primary time throughout the wine journey to Lombardia final fall, the place we loved them for each lunch and dinner. Manfrigole are buckwheat pancakes, crammed with a white sauce with Casera cheese. They are often served with extra white sauce, or with butter and sage. Generally bresaola or pancetta are additionally included. Casera cheese might be exhausting to search out outdoors of Italy or certainly outdoors of Valtellina. It’s a cow’s milk cheese which you could substitute with one other mountainous cow’s milk cheese similar to Fontina or Gruyère in case you can’t discover Casera. It received’t be genuine with out the actual cheese, however it is going to nonetheless be scrumptious. Make certain to make use of buckwheat flour, as a result of that’s important to get the flavour proper. Buckwheat has a pleasant considerably nutty taste. Unusually sufficient, most recipes (in Italian) for manfrigole I discovered on-line have the unsuitable portions for the pancake batter, which makes it method too thick. It appears they’re principally copies of the identical recipe. Beneath are the proper proportions.
Substances
For 4 servings as a most important course or 8 to 12 servings as an appetizer
For the pancakes
- 400 ml (1 2/3 cup) milk
- 2 eggs
- 120 grams flour (beneficiant 3/4 cup)
- 120 grams buckwheat flour (beneficiant 3/4 cup)
- pinch of salt
- butter for frying the pancakes
For the white sauce
- 40 grams (3 Tbsp) butter
- 40 grams (4 Tbsp) flour
- 400 ml (1 2/3 cup) milk
- 250 grams (.55 lb) Casera cheese, crust eliminated and diced
- freshly grated nutmeg
- salt and freshly floor black pepper
For serving
- 100 grams (about 1 stick) butter + extra for greasing the oven dish
- 8 recent sage leaves
Directions
Put 400 ml milk and a pair of eggs in a big bowl.
Whisk to combine.
Add 120 grams of sifted flour, 120 grams of sifted buckwheat flour, and a pinch of salt.
Combine with a picket spoon till there are not any extra lumps.
That is one in all uncommon exceptions when a non-stick frying pan works finest. Preheat the pan over medium warmth to keep away from ruining the primary pancake. Soften about 1/2 tablespoon of butter.
Improve the warmth to medium-high. Tilt the pan till it’s utterly coated with butter. Add 1/4 of the batter and tilt the pan to distribute it evenly.
When the highest of the pancake seems to be dry, test beneath with a spatula. When it’s golden brown, flip the pancake. The method is precisely the identical as for Dutch pancakes, so extra pictures and a extra detailed rationalization right here.
Don’t put the pancakes on a stack, since you need them to chill off. Repeat till you have got 4 pancakes.
Make a fundamental white sauce with 400 ml milk, 40 grams butter, and 40 grams flour, utilizing my directions. Making white sauce may be very fast and simple in case you do it my method.
Decrease the warmth. Season the white sauce to style with freshly grated nutmeg, freshly floor black pepper, and salt.
Add 250 grams of diced Casera cheese.
Stir over low warmth till the cheese has melted utterly, then flip off the warmth and permit to chill considerably.
Unfold out the cheese sauce on the pancakes, leaving the outer rim naked.
Roll up the pancakes, wrap them in cling movie, and refrigerate them to agency up. They are often ready up till this level and saved within the fridge.
To serve the manfrigole, preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Grease an oven dish with butter. Slice the manfrigole into sections of about 5 cm (2 inches) and place them within the oven dish.
Bake the manfrigole within the oven at 180C/350F till golden brown and heated by means of, 20 to 25 minutes.
Soften 100 grams of butter in a saucepan. Add 8 recent sage leaves, and cook dinner them over low warmth till the sage is crispy and the butter is barely browned, then flip off the warmth.
To serve, drizzle the manfrigole with the melted butter, and garnish with the sage.