It has been a year since my grandmother maternal sides deceased in France, after a prolonged fight against cancer.
At that time, I and my husband were in Goa and we hadn’t had the chance to leave the country.
My brother in law married at the same time too, so one can say that everything fell on our heads.
It was brutal and I still feel troubled that I couldn’t be at her side in her last hours.
We had bought our first Internet connection for the purpose of staying in touch after the vicious chemotherapy and my grandmother was one of the kind who embraced technology and its advantages, so we kept on exchanging emails for a while till it was obvious that she couldn’t do it anymore and our family there had to help us out.
Sadly, she fought a lot, not giving up and wanting to leave this beautiful world.
She left 11 Children, 25 grandchildren and one great granddaughter, plus her beloved husband of 57 years of marriage.
To her honor I want to share a traditional recipe from our midst.
A creamy luscious savory crêpes recipe called crêpes ficellle Picarde.
This recipe was originally developed in the 50s in Amiens (Picardie, North of France) by a cook named Marcel Lefèvre.
Till date it has been a hit in the region and it has gained popularity in France over the past decades.
Although the recipes principle is quite simple it is still very much unknown globally, I believe it should receive recognition for its velvet glamorous flavors and textures.
If you ever get to visit the Picardi, this is the first dish which needs to be tried and tasted!
To prepare the dish a crepes is cooked, stuffed with the mushroom onion mix and covered with Bechamel sauce and cheese.
The recipe is calling to finish the dish au gratin, but as you all know I am pretty much unable to do that without an oven in my house.
So I ask you all to not omit that final step because the crispy sauce cheese mix on top enhances the texture a 100 times more and because it is very much worth it!
Our family recipe involves a creamy Bechamel sauce, which (after researching online) isn’t used in the original recipe, instead they used cream.
I have tried the cream version before but it wasn’t satisfactory, in fact I thought it to be too heavy at the end, so I decided to stick to our family recipe.
My grandmother wouldn’t have cooked it any different…. I know she would have loved to experience all that now.
By the way, that’s a picture which I had taken 5 years back when I had visited my home in France, the last time.
I know I know it has been ages and I feel horrible for not being able to travel to my old country.
Believe me, if I could I would roam continuously, but thanks to the global money eating situation we are all forced to make sacrifices and to pay for those who have fooled and misused the common peoples energy and time.
En mémoire de Therese (1933-2011)
- 200 g white flour
- 300 ml Milk
- pinch Salt
- 1 Tbs Oil
- 1 Egg
- Butter for frying
- 1 Onion - chop
- 250 g Mushrooms - chop
- pinch Salt & Pepper
- little Oil to fry
- 5 Ham slices
- 30g Butter
- 3 Tbs white Flour
- 250 ml Milk
- pinch Salt & Pepper
- dash Nutmeg grated
- Emmenthal Cheese grated
- Chives chopped
- You will start by mixing all the above mentioned ingredients for the Crêpes to a smooth liquidy dough. Leave it standing in a cool place for 30 minutes.
- In the meanwhile chop the Onion and Mushrooms fine and fry the onions on slow heat first alone till translucent, throw in the Mushrooms right after that and cook it all till the water from the mushrooms dissolved and the mixture well cooked is. Season it and keep aside.
- Now you ll have to cook the bechamel Sauce by adding the butter to a pot to melt and mixing in the flour, stiring continuously.
- Quickly, pour in little by little the milk and continue whisking the whole mix on the heat till it all thickens to a smooth sauce.
- Keep it aside on a warming plate because we will need it warm later on.
- Take out your crêpes dough and heat up a frying pan with little Oil. Add to the hot pan 1 big Ladle of dough and quickly turn the pan around so that the dough evenly spreads. Cook the crêpes each side 2-5 minutes till it slightly reaches a slight golden color, take it out and keep aside. Do that with the rest of the dough and cook 4 more crêpes batches.
- To assemble the Crêpes Ficelle picarde, place the crêpes open, add a ham slice on top and top it all with the mushroom onion mix. Now roll the crêpes gently in and do that with all the other crêpes.
- The last step, to finnish the recipe, involves covering the crêpes with the hot Bechamel sauce first and garnishing with the grated cheese and chives at the end.
- You can finnish it off au gratin (optional)
- Voila la Crêpes Ficelle Picarde!
Jessica @ Cajunlicious says
Helene these look so delicious and such a lovely tribute to your Grandmother.
A Cook Not Mad (Nat) says
I’m sure she is smiling down on you for this lovely tribute.
Magic of Spice says
This has always been my favorite of crepe dishes…your are beautiful! They match your grandmother perfect smile!
Janet Rudolph @ DyingforChocolate says
Loving memories and wonderful recipes. Thanks for sharing.
Helene Dsouza I Masala Herb says
Thank you all! I appreciate your kind comments about my grandmother.
Liz says
What a lovely post. Your grandmother sounds great and the crepes delicious. They look really comforting.
Cass @foodmyfriend says
I am so so sorry for your loss. I’m sure she led a beautiful life. That recipe looks absolutely delicious and I have already printed it!
Hester @ Alchemy in the Kitchen says
Helene, lovely crepe dish and a sweet tribute to your grandmother. I’m sure she’d be proud!
Javelin Warrior says
What a wonderful way to remember your grandmother and it’s always difficult when we cannot be there in person when a loved one passes. I’m so sorry for your loss and thank you so much for sharing these crepes with us all…
Charles says
Hi Helene, these really look wonderful – as someone mentioned, it’s a very touching post and a beautiful tribute to your grandmother. My family often tell me that my grandmother on my father’s side would be so proud of me since I love cooking so much. Alas she died when I was only 4 but I like to think that she’d appreciate the things I make!
Liz says
Oh, Helene, your grandmother knew you were with her in spirit…and what lovely memories you must have of her. I’m so glad you shared a recipe in her honor…it looks perfectly exquisite!! xo
yummychunklet says
What a fantastic dish of crepes! They look awesome.
Nami | Just One Cookbook says
She must be so proud of you that you made this! I’m so sorry that she suffered from pain. It must have been hard on family too. You made a very nice tribute to your grandma! 🙂
Katherine Martinelli says
What a gorgeous dish, and beautiful ode to your grandmother.
Baker Street says
What a lovely tribute to your grandma, Helene!
Loved your post. xx
Terra says
Your Grandma would be so proud! What a beautiful post for her, She sounds like she was a lovely woman:-) Your crepes look gorgeous! Hugs, Terra
Asmita says
Hi Helene,
What a beautiful tribute ti your grandma. These crepes look so yummy!
Stacy says
Having just lost my grandmother, Helene, your post touched me deeply. The hardest part about being an expat is not being able to be there with those we love for so many important life events, including when they pass away. Your recipe and story pay great tribute to the grandmother you love and the legacy she leaves behind. Thank you so much for sharing them.
Jackie says
First had these on a visit to northern France a few years ago in a small country restaurant cooked by a lovely man no longer with us. Happy memories. Thank you