6/21/2010

Cherry Reduction Spiked Ricotta Crepes

Crepes are my go-to, quick fill when I'm craving carbs. They can be filled with anything and everything-savory, sweet, your mind is your limit (as one of my favorite instructors used to say). Cherries remind me of going to the summer lake in Russia, when I was very young. This was an annual tradition with family and friends. All the girls used to make cherry earrings-by searching for two cherries which were attached at the stem, and hanging them over our ears! This is a great summer treat-try substituting buckwheat flour for half of the AP flour. Alternatively, use whole wheat flour, in which case you'll need to add a bit more milk (or water) to make the batter the right consistency (makes 8 crepes):
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2 eggs
1 cup low fat milk
1 cup AP flour
1.5 t salt
1 t cinnamon (plus 1.5 t for the filling)
1 t nutmeg (plus 1 t for the filling)
cooking spray
2 cups fresh cherries (~12 oz)
1 cup sherry vinegar
1 T + 2 t sugar
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
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1. In a bowl, whisk eggs and milk.
2. In a separate bowl, mix flour, salt, 1 t cinnamon, and 1 t nutmeg.
3. Add the wet ingredients into the dry and mix well (the batter should be the consistency of eggnog).
4. Heat a small, non-stick pan (~7.5 in) over medium-high heat and spray with cooking spray.
5. Using a ~2 oz  ladle, pour batter into pan and swirl it around, so it coats the entire pan; cook ~40 seconds per side (flipping once); remove crepe and repeat with remaining batter.
6. Pit the cherries using a cherry pitter. If you dont have one-no worries! Use a small pastry tip (I used #802-it's written on the tip)-put it on your index finger and press the pointed end into the cherry-the pit will pop right out of the back!
7. Add cherries, vinegar, sugar, 1.5 t cinnamon, and 1 t nutmeg, to a small sauce pan, over medium heat; reduce the vinegar-slowly (you may have to turn the heat down to medium-low or low), until it thickens; remove from heat.
8. Add the cherry mixture to the ricotta, reserving 8 of the cherries for garnish. Fill each crepe with the ricotta mixture and roll the crepes up; top with reserved cherries and enjoy!

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