chicken and leek stuffed pancakes

I’m not quite sure what these should be called – they were inspired by recipes I saw for ravello-style stuffed pancakes and nidi (aka ‘nests’). Regardless, they are what I chose to make for Shrove Tuesday this year – a savoury course of stuffed pancakes which would be followed by crepes and a range of sweet toppings.

This took a bit of time to make but nothing was too complicated. I made a dozen crepes using a Delia Smith recipe, and then moved onto the filling. Pieces of chicken fried in a mix of butter and olive oil, seasoned with salt, pepper, chilli flakes and some finely chopped rosemary leaves; spring onions (because they needed using up), shredded leeks and garlic were fried in a little butter until the vegetables softened then I added baby spinach leaves and cooked them until they wilted; I made a white sauce with a roux and a mix of cream and the juices released by the chicken when it cooked; everything was mixed together and I stirred in a handful of finely chopped sundried tomatoes. Season to taste.

I used this mix to fill my crepes which I rolled and then cut in half. I mixed some shredded basil leaves with passata and spread this on the bottom of the baking dish. The halved pancake rolls were then placed “standing” in the dish before being sprinkled with cheese (I used a mix of gruyere and cheddar, because this was what I had in the fridge).

I covered the dish with foil and baked at 200c for 25 minutes, removed the foil and cooked for a final 10 minutes so the cheese could melt and the edges of the pancakes crisp up. Serve with a salad and leave space for crepes!