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Crêpes are delicious on their own, but adding spinach takes it to another level, a healthy one in fact!
These gluten-free spinach & salmon crêpes are filled with gently poached salmon, mushrooms, and extra spinach encased in a spring onion sauce.
The final touch is a good sprinkle of cheese over each layer of rolled crepes and a short bake in the oven.
This colourful savoury baked dish makes a wholesome and delicious meal for lunch or dinner.
How to assemble the spinach crêpes
- Place a ready-made spinach crêpe on a dinner plate and pour some of the salmon mixture on the lower third of the crêpe stopping 5 cm away from each side.
- Roll the bottom part of the crêpe over the filling.
- Fold both sides over the filling.
- Roll the crêpe to the other end of the crêpe until it looks like a spring roll.
- Place it seam-side down on a buttered casserole dish and sprinkle some cheese on the first completed layer.
- Repeat filling and rolling the remaining crêpes and place them on top of the first layer in the casserole dish and finish off with one more sprinkle of cheese.
Fresh Salmon
Buy either pre-cut fillets or a whole fillet to cut up into small 2 cm pieces. Check for any stray bones by running your fingers over the surface of the salmon and keep an eye out for them while cutting.
Why do we need to remove the skin?
Frying or grilling salmon with the skin results in crispy skin and tender, gently cooked salmon meat. However, when poaching salmon as done in this recipe, the skin would become slimy and tough.
Removing the skin from the salmon takes a bit of patience. Place the salmon skin side down and place the blade of your knife in between the skin and flesh. Using a see-saw motion away from you, slowly remove the skin. Otherwise, if you are buying it from a fishmonger, ask them to remove it, but keep the skin!
Salmon skin is like “bacon of the sea”. Once cooked, It is absolutely delicious, just like bacon! They are similar in texture and have a pleasant fatty and salty flavour. Perfect as a garnish topping for this dish. I have added steps to make crispy salmon skin in the recipe card below.
ALTERNATIVE FILLINGS
Crêpes are a versatile dish as they can be stuffed or layered with practically any type of filling, either savoury or sweet. Here are a few suggestions to replace the meat, vegetables and/or cheese:
Meat Substitutes:
Tinned salmon: Double-check there are no bones and drain any oil or brine from the tin.
Prawns, green (cook slightly longer) or pink.
Cooked chicken, shredded. Using leftover roast chicken is perfect to use as a filling.
Chilli con Carne: Use the spinach crêpes in a similar way to tortillas and fill them with chilli con carne and cheese. Serve with a dollop of sour cream.
Ham: Shredded, sliced or cubed ham (either unsmoked or smoked).
Lobster: For an indulgent crêpe filling, poach cubes of lobster meat after adding the mushrooms to the roux (white sauce).
Vegetable & Herb Substitutes:
Kale or Rocket instead of spinach added to the crêpe batter and/or filling.
Chantarelles instead of field mushrooms.
Capsicums (Bell Peppers), cut into small cubes.
Asparagus spears, using thin ones will cook nicely inside the crêpe.
Coriander leaves are suited for the chilli con carne filling.
Snipped chives are suited for seafood fillings.
Tarragon leaves are suited for chicken fillings.
Freshly chopped parsley is suited for chicken and ham fillings.
Cheese Substitutes:
This recipe has shredded mozzarella in the filling and strong cheese as a topping.
Feta cheese, as a filling gives the crêpes a notably tangy flavour. Add this to a vegetable crêpe or your favourite meat filling.
Goat’s cheese adds a strong flavour to the filling, which suits pairing up with vegetables or ham.
Halloumi slices together with your favourite vegetables make this a truly healthy crêpe. Grill the halloumi until slightly charred and add them to each crêpe when assembling.
Shredded smoked cheese: This cheese goes well with mushrooms.
Parmesan cheese: A strong cheese addition, which needs the quantity reduced by half in this recipe.
Ricotta: This soft cheese makes a classic combination with spinach.
Gluten-Free Spinach & Salmon Crêpes
Ingredients
Gluten-Free Spinach Crêpes
- 100 g frozen or fresh spinach leaves, stems removed
- 4 eggs
- ½ tsp lemon zest
- 120 g store-bought or homemade gluten-free plain flour
- 250 ml milk
- 2 tbsp melted butter
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg, freshly grated, if possible
- 1 tbsp fresh dill
Roux (White Sauce)
- 1½ tbsp butter
- 3 tbsp store-bought or homemade gluten-free plain flour
- 300 ml milk
- 3 spring onions, chopped finely
Crêpe Filling
- 100 g mushrooms, white or brown, chopped finely
- 300 g fresh salmon, with or without skin
- 1 handful fresh spinach leaves, shredded
- 2 tsp fresh dill, chopped finely
- 60 g shredded mozzarella
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg, freshly grated, if possible
- ½ tsp white pepper
- salt, to season
Extras
- 50 g strong cheese, e.g., Cheddar or Gruyère, grated
- Salmon skin, for garnishing (optional)
- Fresh dill leaves, for garnishing
Instructions
Gluten-Free Spinach Crêpes
Batter:
- If using frozen spinach, once thawed, squeeze out the excess liquid.
- Transfer the spinach to a blender or handheld stick blender container.
- Add the remaining ingredients.
- Blend well until the crêpe mixture is smooth and frothy.
- Cover and allow to rest for 30 mins. (*This is a good time to prepare the salmon and remove the skin)
Frying the crêpes:
- Heat on high, two crêpe or cast-iron pans that are similar in size to medium heat. Using two pans speeds up the frying process.
- When smoke can be seen rising, lower the heat to the second lowest setting.
- Lightly brush the pans with butter.
- Briefly stir the crêpe batter and ladle approx. ¼ cup onto the crêpe pan, swirling the pan to spread it out thinly and evenly or use a crêpe spreader for more convenience.
- Fry for 1 minute, before carefully flipping the crêpe over to cook the other side.
- After 30 seconds, remove the crêpe to a dinner plate and cover.
- Increase the heat slightly if the crêpes take longer to cook.
- Set aside while preparing the salmon, roux and filling.
Salmon Preparation
- Prepare the salmon by carefully removing the skin with a sharp knife. Place the salmon skin side down and see-saw the blade away from you, between the skin and salmon flesh. The skin should come off easily in one piece. It doesn’t matter if it breaks apart as it will be crumbled once cooked.
- Pat the skin dry with some paper towels and set aside on a small baking tray in the refrigerator.
- Cut the salmon into bite-size pieces and add this to a bowl together with the shredded fresh spinach. Set aside.
Roux (White Sauce)
- Heat the milk and spring onions until it reaches boiling point. Remove from the heat and allow to sit for 15 mins. The warm milk will draw out the flavour and richness from the spring onions during this rest. (While the milk is resting, chop and prepare the crêpe filling ingredients ahead of time.)
- Melt the butter over low heat without browning.
- Add the flour and stir constantly for 2 mins until it is well combined. Do not let it catch on the bottom of the pan, or the sauce will be bitter and speckled with brown bits.
- Increase the heat to medium and pour half of the milk mixture gradually, incorporating the flour mixture together until it is smooth and well combined. At this stage, the roux will be thick.
Crêpe Filling
- Add the mushrooms and dill to the roux.
- Cook for 2 mins, stirring often.
- Next, add the salmon and spinach, followed by the shredded mozzarella. Stir for 2 mins.
- Add the remaining milk mixture gradually until it reaches a medium consistency.
- Turn the heat off, season and taste. Add more seasoning if needed.
- Remove from the stove and cover while assembling the spinach crêpes.
Salmon skin:
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F.
- Remove the salmon skin from the refrigerator and sprinkle some salt over the skin.
- Roast the skin on the top shelf in the oven for 15 to 20 mins, or until the skin appears golden and crisp to the touch.
- Set aside on paper towels to cool down.
- Keep the oven on for baking the crêpes, or cook the salmon skin and crêpes at the same time.
Assembling the spinach crêpes:
- Butter the base and sides of your chosen casserole dish.
- Place a ready-made spinach crêpe on a dinner plate and pour some of the salmon mixture on the lower third of the crêpe stopping 5 cm away from each side.
- Roll the bottom part of the crêpe over the filling.
- Fold both sides over the filling.
- Roll to the other end of the crêpe and it looks like a spring roll.
- Place it seam-side down on the buttered casserole dish.
- Continue with the remaining crêpes until one complete layer has been made in the casserole dish.
- Sprinkle some grated strong cheese over the layer.
- Repeat filling and rolling the remaining crêpes and place them on top of the first layer in the casserole dish.
- Once the second layer is complete, sprinkle the remaining grated strong cheese over the top.
Baking the spinach crêpes:
- Cover the dish with foil and bake for 20 mins.
- Remove the foil halfway so that the top turns golden and crisp.
Serving:
- Break up the crispy salmon skin into small pieces and scatter them on top of the spinach crêpes.
- Sprinkle plenty of fresh dill as a garnish.
- Allow the crêpes to cool down for 5 mins before lifting them onto each plate before serving.
- Serve with a fresh mixed salad and lemon pieces.
Notes
- Keeps for one day chilled
- Reheat in a moderate oven or microwave
- Spinach crêpes are suitable to freeze (with baking paper interleaving them)
- Filling is unsuitable to freeze
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