Ham crepes

Serves 8

Buckwheat crepes

– 500ml milk

– 3 large eggs

– 80g unsalted butter, melted – 70g buckwheat flour

– 105g plain flour

– 1/4 tsp sea salt

– a little extra butter Whisk the milk, eggs and melted butter together. Place flours and salt into a bowl, make a well in the centre and whisk in the liquid ingredients. Whisk until you have a smooth batter. Cover and chill overnight. To fry the crepes, remove the batter from the refrigerator about an hour before frying. Stir it briskly. It should be the consistency of heavy cream. If it is too thick, dilute it with a little more milk. Heat a 22-centimetre cast iron or non-stick pan on the stovetop. Drop a tiny piece of butter into the hot pan and swirl about. Lift the pan and pour a quarter cup of the batter in the middle of the hot skillet, swirling the pan to distribute the batter quickly and evenly. The pan shouldn’t be too hot or too cold – the batter should start cooking within a few seconds, giving you just enough time to swirl it. After about a minute, run a non-stick spatula around the underside of the rim of the crepe, then flip the crepe over. Let the crepe cook on the flip side for about 30 seconds, then slide it onto a cooling rack. Repeat, cooking the remaining batter, stirring it every so often as you go.

Bechamel sauce

– 30g butter, chopped

– 40g plain flour

– 550ml milk

– 40g parmesan cheese, finely grated – 1/4 tsp salt

– good pinch ground nutmeg Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat until foaming. Add the flour. Cook, stirring, for one to two minutes or until bubbling. Remove from the heat. Slowly add the milk, whisking constantly, until the mixture is smooth. Return to the heat. Cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, for 10 to 12 minutes or until the sauce comes to the boil, thickens and coats the back of a wooden spoon.

Remove from the heat. Stir in the parmesan, salt and nutmeg.

Filling

– 250g sliced leg ham – 250g Gruyere, grated – 4 tbsp Dijon mustard

Preheat oven to 180ºC.

Butter a baking dish that will hold 16 rolled crepes. Spread a little Dijon on each crepe, place some ham and a sprinkle of grated Gruyere. Make sure you leave some grated cheese for the top. Arrange the rolled crepes snugly in the baking dish, smear the bechamel over the top, and then scatter the cheese. Bake for about 20 minutes, until golden brown.

Serve with a crisp green salad.