This dish has been on my to-make list for ages. I always loved the combination of hazelnut, brown butter, and thyme, mostly because it is woodsy and earthy. While I usually make desserts with that flavor combination, it made just as much sense to do something savory with it as well(since it is an inherently savory combination!). Mushrooms made perfect sense to pair with those ingredients, since they are earthy, add natural umami, and they can get nice and roasted in brown butter. In terms of what else could be added to really round this all out, I wanted to make crespelles(Italian crepes), just to be a fun nod to this dish having dessert-y origins, and I also wanted to use kale, because that could add a nice pop of green to an otherwise brown-heavy dish. And then I got the idea, why not blanch some kale, and puree that into the crespelle batter? I will be honest, I was expecting the batter to take on a darker green color, similar to the kale itself, but what I got was this vibrant green color, which while different than what I was expecting, was still pleasant to look at!

In terms of components, this is a really simple recipe. We have kale crespelles stuffed with a pecorino-ricotta mixture, and topped with wilted kale, roasted mushrooms, and toasted hazelnuts in a thyme brown butter. This recipe honestly ate like a mushroom-forward manicotti dish, because the crespelles acted more like a pasta than they did a pancake. With the garnish, it is a bit of work, since you do have to roast the mushrooms separately in the oven first(this guarantees that they will caramelize in the brown butter better!). While the mushrooms are roasting, the hazelnuts are first toasted in the brown butter with the thyme to infuse that earthy, nutty flavor into the buter itself, so that when the mushrooms are seared in it, they take on those flavors. And then the kale is added to that, just to add body to the garnish, and making this hearty vegetarian almost-ragu situation. Contrasting that with the nutty cream filling, and the super woodsy mushroom-kale-hazelnut garnish, and you have yourself a very comforting dish where you don’t really miss the meat!

Makes 2 servings:
For the kale crespelle batter:
1oz kale leaves, stems removed
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 egg
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup milk
1 tbsp olive oil
a pinch of salt

Blanch the kale leaves for 20 seconds then shock them in ice water. Squeeze out any excess liquid from the leaves before transferring to a blender with the other ingredients. Puree everything together to form your batter. Allow the batter to sit for at least 20 minutes before attempting to cook with.

Heat up a medium-sized nonstick pan on medium. Pour 2oz of the batter into the pan, rotating it so that the batter spreads in an even, thin layer and forms a round pancake. As the edges of the crespelle begin to peel off of the pan, flip the crespelle and cook on the other side for another 10 to 20 seconds. Repeat this step with all of your batter.

For the ricotta:
4oz ricotta, strained
1 tbsp finely grated pecorino cheese
a pinch of grated nutmeg
a pinch of white pepper

Mix everything in a bowl to form your filling. Spread into each of the crespelles.

For the roasted mushrooms:
8 shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and sliced thinly
12 oyster mushrooms, halved
a pinch of salt
1 tbsp olive oil

Start by tossing everything together to ensure the mushrooms are coated in oil and seasoned with the salt. Roast the mushrooms in a pan at 375 degrees F for 10 minutes first.

For the thyme-hazelnut brown butter kale:
4 tbsp unsalted butter
3 tbsp hazelnuts
a pinch of salt
1 tsp dried thyme
roasted mushrooms
2 cloves garlic, diced
4 leaves of kale, stems removed and chopped

In a pan, start by heating up the butter, hazelnuts, salt, and thyme together. Once the butter is melted and browned, fish out the hazelnuts first. Then add to that the mushrooms, searing them in the butter until browned. Remove the mushrooms, then add in the garlic, sauteing that until nutty, then to that, add the kale, stirring that until just wilted before tossing back in the hazelnuts and mushrooms to finish.