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My grandmother's spinach pancake cake

Prep Time 45 - 50 min mins
Cook Time 1 hour min
Total Time 46 mins
Racing: , , ,
Difficulty: intermediate
Servings: 6
Description

There are some dishes that pass down the generations without ever getting old. This spinach pancake cake, prepared by my Austrian grandmother in a simple round Pyrex dish, is one of them. She would stack her thin homemade pancakes with a generous filling of creamed spinach, garlic, onions and grated cheese... and then bake the whole thing au gratin in the oven. It wasn't complicated or pretentious, but it looked great at the table! I still make it regularly for my family - especially at Easter, when we're looking for tasty vegetarian recipes to prepare in advance.

Ingredients
  • Pancake batter (about 7 pancakes of 25 cm)
  • 25 g melted butter
  • 250 g of milk
  • 100 g water
  • 125 g of flour
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 pinch of salt
  • Spinach filling
  • Olive oil
  • 3 large onions (finely chopped)
  • 4 pods garlic (finely chopped)
  • 1.8 kg frozen spinach leaves (defrosted and well squeezed)
  • Salt & pepper
  • Béchamel sauce
  • 40 g of butter
  • 40 g of flour
  • 500 g of milk
  • ½ tsp of salt
  • 2 pinches pepper
  • 1-2 pinches nutmeg
  • For gratinating
  • 300 g grated cheese (Gruyère or Comté)
Instructions
  1. 1
    TRADITIONAL METHOD
    Preparation
    1. Pancakes
    Mix the melted butter with the milk, water, eggs and salt. Add the flour.
    Leave the dough to rest for 30 minutes.
    Cook around 7 crêpes in a greased frying pan (25 cm in diameter). Set aside.
    2. Spinach filling
    Fry the onions in a drizzle of oil until golden brown.
    Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute, then stir in the spinach. Season generously. Put to one side.
    3. Béchamel sauce
    Melt the butter, add the flour and cook for 3 minutes, stirring constantly.
    Gradually add the milk, then the seasonings.
    Thicken over a medium heat for 6 minutes, stirring constantly.
    ________________________________________
    Assembly
    1. Place a cake ring (or use a round Pyrex-type dish).
    2. Put a little béchamel sauce on the bottom.
    3. Add a pancake, a layer of spinach, a little béchamel sauce and grated cheese.
    4. Repeat the layers until you have used up all the ingredients. Finish with béchamel sauce and cheese.
    5. Bake at 175°C until the top is golden and nicely gratinated.
    ________________________________________
    Tip
    You can make the cake the day before, leave it in the fridge and bake it the same day. Even better when reheated!

    THERMOMIX® METHOD.
Read it online: https://auxdelicesdecaroline.com/en/recipe/gateau-de-crepes-aux-epinards-de-ma-grand-mere/