Recipe: Baked Pancakes Picarde Style

Name: Baked Pancakes Picarde Style
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 60 min
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: Baked Pancakes recipe for 4 people :4 slices of cooked ham; 2 veal brain, cooked and skinned; 8 salted pancakes; 100g (3.5 oz) finely chopped shallots; 400g (14 oz) finely chopped button mushrooms; 100g (3.5 oz) butter; 4 dl double cream; 20g (0.7 oz) plain flour; 150g (5.25 oz) grated Gruyère cheese; salt and freshly ground peppera pinch nutmeg

By chef patrick Asfaux 4.9/5 (14 reviews) · 🍳 4 made it

Prep 30 min

Cook 30 min

Total 1h

Servings 4 serv.

Shallots and button mushrooms cook together as a creamy duxelles base that receives ham and calf's brains. Eight savory crêpes form stuffed cylinders, gratinéed in the oven for ten minutes. It's a winter Picardy dish, served piping hot, that requires planning ahead but can be made the same day.

Ingredients for 4 servings

Adjust for

servings

Baked Pancakes recipe for 4 people :

4 slices of cooked ham
2 veal brain, cooked and skinned
8 salted pancakes
100g (3.5 oz) finely chopped shallots
400g (14 oz) finely chopped button mushrooms
100g (3.5 oz) butter
4 dl double cream
20g (0.7 oz) plain flour
150g (5.25 oz) grated Gruyère cheese

salt and freshly ground peppera pinch nutmeg

Step-by-step directions

1 Sweat off the shallot for 5 minutes with butter. Then, add the flour and allow to cook for another 5 minutes. Pour in the cream and cook until thickened a little bit. Add the mushrooms, season well and cook for 5 more minutes.

2 Dice up the ham and brain and add them to the sauce. Season with pepper and nutmeg.

3 Slowly cook the mixture for 10 minutes.

4 Place your pancakes on a clean surface. Place some ham and mushroom mixture in each pancakes. Then roll them up.

5 Start your oven at 210'C (410'F).

6 Place your pancakes in a shallow oven dish and pour the rest of the sauce on the top and sprinkle the cheese, all over, to finish. Bake for 10 minutes.

Serve straight out of the oven.

This dish is known as "ficelle Picarde"-Picarde's string- because of the shape given to the pancakes.

Chef's tip

Baked pancakes Picarde style is a Sunday family dish, the kind you cook when you have time and you're entertaining. Historically, it's a specialty from Amiens, born in the 1950s when cooks had to use all the leftover local charcuterie. Today people remake it more often in a simplified version without calf's brains, but the full recipe is the one that truly holds up on the palate. It's an autumn and winter dish, when fresh button mushrooms from the market are firm and pale. Gray shallots finely diced enhance without overpowering. Cream is the binder that ties everything together in the 210°C oven. For wine, look for a dry white with good body: a Chablis, a Meursault, or a Côtes du Jura white. If you prefer red, a Beaujolais village will do the job, nothing too light. The wine's acidity holds up against the richness of the gratinéed cream and Gruyère. For sides, serve with a simple green salad, lettuce or arugula, just classic vinaigrette. Avoid anything too heavy. Good bakery bread to soak up the cream at the bottom of the plate, that's all you need.

Frequently asked questions

Can calf's brains be replaced with something else?

Yes, many people do this nowadays. Use 100 g of sautéed calf's liver, finely diced, or 150 g of extra sautéed mushrooms. The taste changes but the texture holds. Avoid ground meat, too coarse in the crêpes.

How do you prevent the cream from splitting in the oven?

Don't exceed 210°C, and check after eight minutes. The cream should still jiggle slightly in the center. If you leave it ten minutes straight, it browns fast. Prefer a well-regulated oven. If the cream rises and looks too thick, you over-reduced it on the stove before.

Can you prepare the rolled crêpes the night before and gratinée them the same day?

Yes, that's even ideal. Roll your pancakes, place them in the buttered dish covered with plastic wrap, up to four hours chilled. The same day, coat with cream, Gruyère, and bake. Don't freeze once stuffed, the brains' taste oxidizes.