Crepes for Soup

When I make the chicken broth, with or without the little meatballs, I often make these tasty crepes. They are incredibly easy to make and go very well with the soup. The Pecorino Romano cheese is the secret ingredient here. Once your family realizes how good these are, you will need to slap their hands as they try to steal them. This usually means that you should make 1.5-2 times as many crepes as in this recipe, or they will be gone in one day. Note that my mother’s recipe omits additions like the escarole, rice, pasta, and croutons when these crepes are used.

This is a characteristic Abruzzese dish and is called "Scrippelle 'mbusse" in dialect which means "crepes in soup." It is often served at Easter, which is when we normally had it growing up. Nowadays, I just make it whenever I have broth and feel like doing it. It's very easy.

12 eggs

2 cups water

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

Grated Pecorino Romano

Nonstick cooking spray (or vegetable oil to applied using a paper towel)

1. Beat eggs with an electric mixer until foamy, adding water gradually.

2. Continue beating, now adding the flour gradually.

3. Preheat a 12-inch nonstick or cast-iron pan over medium-high heat.

4. Once the pan is hot, apply a light coating of nonstick cooking spray or a tiny amount of vegetable oil using a paper towel. You will need to repeat this step before cooking each crepe.

5. Holding the pan off the burner, pour in about one-third cup of the crepe batter and quickly lift, tilt, and rotate the pan until the bottom is covered. As the accompanying photos illustrate, I don’t typically measure out one-third cup at a time; instead, I use the equivalent but nonstandard about-three-quarters-of-my-ladleful.

6. Once the edges of the crepe curl up a little, use a spatula to flip it over.

7. Cook the other side for a couple of minutes, then remove the crepe, placing it on a plate or work surface.

8. Sprinkle a generous amount of Pecorino Romano on the crepe, and roll it up into a tight cylinder.

9. Repeat Steps 4-8. Once you’re done, you can store the crepes in a large rectangular pan or casserole dish covered with aluminum foil. If you’re not going to use them immediately, refrigerate them and then allow to come to room temperature before serving.

10. To serve, add a crepe to each bowl of soup, breaking the crepe into four pieces. You can have extra Pecorino Romano at the ready, but the broken pieces of crepe are usually enough to flavor the soup.