What would you like to make?
Categories
< All Topics
Print

Crêpes With Roasted Maple, Thyme, Butternut Squash, Stilton, and Hazelnuts

Description

Jane and Charlie made this for us during a Eugene visit. It was delicious. I really wanted it again after she left, but I was intimidated about making crêpes. I had some Liege Waffles from Off the Waffle and figured that would work instead.

When I told Sam about it, she replied, "Squash Waffles. Absolutely not." Maybe stick to the crêpes.

Ingredients

For the Praline hazelnuts

  • 1/3 of a cup of sugar
  • 1 tablespoon water
  • Big pinch of kosher salt
  • 1/3 cup roughly chopped hazelnuts

For the roasted hazelnuts

  • Half a cup hazelnuts
  • Pinch of kosher or sea salt

For the roasted butternut squash

  • One medium butternut squash about 1 3/4 pounds, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
  • One medium shallot, finally chopped
  • two large cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup, preferably grade B
  • 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, chopped
  • 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
  • 1 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper

Remaining Ingredients

  • Six wheat crêpes or your choice (Page 36 of my crêpes cookbook)
  • 3 ounces Stilton cheese (or other good quality blue cheese), crumbled end at room temperature
  • Freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Praline Hazelnuts

  1. Butter an 8 x 11“ piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil.
  2. Combine the sugar, water, and salt in a medium heavy-duty skillet over medium-high heat. Let the mixture cook undisturbed until the sugar begins to turn a light amber color, 6 to 8 minutes. Stir in hazelnuts and cook, stirring, until the camel becomes a dark, rich amber color, a minute or so more. Immediately remove the skillet from the heat and pour the praline onto the foil. Let the praline cool completely at room temperature, about 20 minutes.
  3. Break the praline into small pieces and then chop finely with the chefs knife, or put the pieces in a food processor. Pulse until the praline is finely chopped. (The praline can be made up to three days ahead and stored at room temperature in an airtight container.)

Roast Hazelnuts

  1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 350°F.
  2. Put the hazelnuts on a medium-rimmed baking sheet and roast them, stirring often, until they’re pregnant and light gold, 5 to 8 minutes. Transfer the nets to a cutting board and coarsely chopped them. Transfer the nets to a small bowl and toss them with the salt. Set aside.

Roast Butternut Squash

  1. Increase the heat of the oven to 400°F. Generously oil a 9 x 13“ shallow roasting pan or baking dish.
  2. Combine the squash, shallot, garlic, maple syrup, thyme, balsamic vinegar, salt, and 4 to 5 grains of pepper in a large bowl and mix to thoroughly combine. Transfer the mixture to the prepared roasting pan and roast, stirring occasionally, until the squash is tender but not mushy, about 45 minutes. Keep warm.

Assembly

  1. Reduce the heat of the oven to 300°F. Put the crapes on a large plate, cover the plate with foil, and heat the crapes in the oven until they’re hot, about 10 minutes.
  2. Lay the crapes presentation side down on a clean work surface. Spoon some of the roasted squash in a thick horizontal line across the center of each crêpe. Sprinkle each one with about 1 tablespoon of the Stilton and about 1 teaspoon of the hazelnuts. Fold the bottom edges of each crêpe in toward the center until they just overlap so they resemble cones leaving some of the feeling showing at the top of the cone. Garnish the crapes with a grind of black pepper, a generous sprinkle of the praline, and more hazelnuts, if you like and serve right away.