Ham & Asparagus Crêpes with Cheese Sauce
I love versatile recipes, the ones that can be enjoyed anytime during the day. I think of one of my quiches, baked beans, Pizza Rustica or Torta Pasqualina, omelets, Farmer’s sausage skillet 🍳, an avocado sweet pea toast, eggs benny poutine, etc.
Another one that can be enjoyed either for breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner is my Ham & Asparagus Crêpes with Cheese Sauce! This is incredibly delicious! It’s not too heavy, satisfying and loaded with flavor! If you plan well, this is a dish that can be made in 30 minutes ⏰.
Making crêpes is easy. They’re a great food vessel for sweet and savory dishes. For dessert crêpes, there’s Crêpes Suzette, crêpes stuffed with your favorite berries 🍓 and garnished with whipped cream, Caramel Apple Crêpes… a favorite of mine, Chocolate Hazelnut Banana Crêpes, and many others…
When it comes to savory, the sky is the limit! I have a few recipes besides this featured one. There are Chicken Stuffed Crêpes with Poblano Sauce, Seafood Crêpes 🦞, Chicken & Chanterelle Crêpes, Smoked Salmon with Cream Cheese & Dill Crêpes, etc.
The secret to making crêpes is simple… The batter has to rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes to allow the flour to absorb the liquid, give the gluten a chance to relax and the bubbles to settle. To expedite the batter and crêpe making, here’s a few options…
– The batter can be made 👩🍳👨🍳 a day ahead. Cover, transfer to the fridge until needed. When ready to use, let it come to room temperature before making the crêpes.
– If the time is tight and you don’t have time to let it rest for a good 30 minutes, use Instant Flour aka Wondra instead of all-purpose flour as it doesn’t need time to hydrate.
– The last option is to make the crêpes ahead. Although best when freshly made, they’re still delicious when done prior. Here’s the link for more info…
There are a few steps to making these Ham & Asparagus Crêpes with Cheese Sauce. If you plan ahead, everything can be done with 30 minutes…
1- Make the crêpes ahead while blanching the asparagus.
2- When the dish is in the oven, make the sauce which should take about 15 minutes ⏱, the same time for the crêpes to bake.
Making the filling takes 5 minutes at the most but that as well, can be made ahead. I season the mixture with freshly ground black pepper along with hot paprika. If you decided to go for cayenne pepper instead, use a ¼ teaspoon or less… you still want to taste the other ingredients.
The sauce is a Béchamel-base that is tweaked into a Cheese Sauce. It’s pretty similar to my Cheddar Cheese Sauce recipe. Instead, I add Dijon mustard and use Swiss cheese 🧀 in lieu of Cheddar. I like Swiss in this crêpe recipe but Emmental, Gruyère or Jarlsberg are other great options!
Sauces can be tricky at times. If it gets too thick, start by adding a couple tablespoons of warmed milk 🥛 to thin it up. Another step you should always do is to taste and adjust seasonings if needed.
I make crêpes often. They’re amazing food vessels as are Vol-au-vent. Like this delightful Ham & Asparagus Crêpes with Cheese Sauce recipe, most are perfect to serve anytime of the day. With Thanksgiving and the Holidays 🎄 around the corner, this is a recipe to add to your folder…
Bon Appétit! 🍽
Here are more scrumptious breakfast and brunch recipes for you to try… 😀
– Soft Boiled Eggs
– Easy Zucchini Bread
– Scones
– Vodka Yummmosa
– Shakshouka
– Breakfast Casserole
– Mini Mexican Tortilla Quiche
– English Muffins
and for even more French recipes, click on this link… Recipe Category • French Cuisine
Don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel 📽 by clicking on this link… Club Foody YouTube
Ham & Asparagus Crêpes with Cheese Sauce
Hover to scale
Ingredients
CRÊPE BATTER
- 3/4 cup whole milk
- 2 large free-range eggs, room temperature
- 1 large free-range egg yolk, room temperature
- 1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
- 3 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted plus more to brush the skillet
- 1/2 tsp. ground Himalayan pink salt
FILLING
- 1 tbsp. butter
- 1 tbsp. olive oil tips & tricks
- 1/2 cup white onions, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup red peppers, finely chopped
- ground Himalayan pink salt, to taste
- 2 large cloves garlic, pressed
- 1 1/2 cups smoked ham, diced
- freshly ground black pepper, to taste (I always use mixed peppercorns)
- 1 tsp. hot paprika, or to taste
- 1 1/2 cups Swiss cheese, grated
- 18 large asparagus spears, blanched tips & tricks
CHEESE SAUCE
- 4 tbsp. unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
- 2 1/4 cups milk, warmed
- 2 tbsp. Dijon mustard
- 1 cup Swiss cheese, grated
- 1/2 tbsp. chopped chives, for garnish tips & tricks
Directions
BATTER
- Combine all the ingredients in the jar of a blender and process until the mixture is smooth with no lumps in it, cleaning the sides of the jar when needed.
- Transfer to a bowl and let the batter sit for 30 minutes to allow the gluten to relax and the bubbles to settle – this can be made a day ahead.
CRÊPES
- In a 10-inch skillet over medium heat, brush on some butter at the bottom of the pan.
- When it gets warm, add about ¼ cup of batter and swirl the pan around so it evenly covers the bottom.
- Cook until golden, about 1:30 to 2 minutes. Using a spatula, flip the crêpe over and cook until brown as well.
- Transfer to a plate and place a piece of wax paper on top to prevent it from drying out. Brush more butter in the pan and continue making crêpes until the batter is gone.
FILLING
- Preheat oven to 400ºF and grease a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray; set aside
- In a skillet over medium heat, add butter and oil. When melted and starts sizzling, add onions and red peppers; season with salt. Sauté them for 2 minutes. Add garlic and sauté for 30 seconds.
- Transfer the sautéed veggies to a large bowl. Add smoked ham and cheese; season with pepper and hot paprika. Stir well and set aside.
- Working with one at a time, spoon about 1/3 to ½ cup of ham mixture into the center of a crêpe and place 3 blanched asparagus on top making sure the spears are sticking out a little.
- Fold each side of the crêpe over the filling and place the stuffed crêpe, seam side down, in the prepared baking dish; continue with the others.
- When all 6 crêpes are stuffed, transfer to the preheated oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until the cheese is melted. Meanwhile make the sauce.
CHEESE SAUCE
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, add butter and when melted, add flour. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring constantly.
- Pour in warmed milk and continue stirring until the sauce thickens, about 2 to 3 minutes, or until the sauce coats the back of a spoon.
- Stir in Dijon mustard. Add cheese in batches, mixing well between each addition.
- To assemble...Carefully transfer baked crêpes to warm serving plates, spoon sauce over and garnish with chopped chives. Makes 6.
Don't forget to rate and comment on this recipe!
