What child can resist the temptation of chewing on pens and pencils? Here’s a yummy way to scratch the itch! The savory crepe pencils are soft thin pancakes, filled with a tasty cheese spread… a great idea for a school party! Find this and many more recipes with pictures on the English version of the Giallozafferano App http://itunes.apple.com/app/giallozafferano-recipes/id384387249?mt=8
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Start with the crepe batter: in a bowl, combine the milk, one egg, the melted butter and a pinch of salt; whisk together, then sift in the flour; once the mixture is free of lumps, cover the bowl with cling film and place in the fridge to rest for at least half an hour. This batter works with both sweet and savoury fillings.
Now prepare a cheese spread by combining spreadable cheese and grated cheese. That’s it, transfer to a pastry bag and place in the fridge.
Let’s get back to the crepes: melt a small piece of butter on a hot non-stick pan, then pour a ladleful of batter in the middle of the pan and swirl to spread evenly. Keep the heat at medium, neither too low nor too high, until the bottom is light brown, then flip it over. Stack the crepes on a plate as they are done, and cover with cling film to prevent them from drying out. When the crepe pulls away easily from the pan, you can take it out. Don’t worry if the first crepe doesn’t come out well, it’s normal: the next ones will be better! Repeat until the batter is used up.
It’s time to assemble the pencils: first peel a carrot, we’ll use it later. Take a crepe, cut in half, then take a slice of ham, fold it over, cut in half and place on the crepe, letting about 1 inch stick out, in this way; then add the cheese spread, take a small chunk of carrot, about 1 inch (2,5 cm) thick, and place it here. Now roll up the crepe: it’s starting to look like a pencil. Cut a black pitted olive in half and here’s the black tip. For the number corresponding to the hardness of the lead, 10 for example, use a black olive, but first a little touch that makes it look more realistic: make a strip of aluminum foil, about ½ inch (1 cm) wide, and wrap it all around. Add the number and here it is! And while I’m making the other pencils, let’s see together the ingredients needed for this recipe!
Ingredients
for 10 pencils
For the crepe batter
– 1 egg
– ½ cup (65 g) of flour
– ½ cup (125 ml) of milk
– ¾ tbsp (10 g) of butter
– 1 pinch of salt
– a knob of butter for greasing the pan
For the cheese spread
– 1 cup (250 g) of spreadable cheese
– ½ cup (50 g) of grated grana cheese
For garnishing
– 1 carrot
– 5 ham slices
– black pitted olives