Italian savoury pancakes (soffiatini)
- Published: 31 Jul 23
- Updated: 25 Mar 24
These savoury pancakes from food writer Ursula Ferrigno hail from southern Italy, where they’re known as soffiantini or ‘whispers’. The pancakes are stuffed with spinach, mozzarella and Parma ham and baked until golden. Prep ahead for an easy dinner.
Recipe taken from Cucina di Amalfi by Ursula Ferrigno (Ryland Peters & Small £20)
Check out all our savoury pancake recipes in one handy place.
- Makes 6
- Hands-on time 1 hour. Oven time 12 min
Ingredients
- 75g unsalted butter
- 75g ‘00’ flour
- 200ml whole milk
- 100g cooked spinach, chopped
- 1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
- Large handful flatleaf parsley, chopped
- 100g buffalo mozzarella, chopped
- 75g parma ham, shredded
- 50g parmesan, finely grated, plus extra to sprinkle
- 2 medium free-range egg whites, whisked until foamy
For the pancakes
- 90g ‘00’ flour
- 150ml whole milk
- 2 medium free-range eggs, beaten
- Unsalted butter, melted, to fry and brush
Method
- To make the filling, melt the butter in a saucepan over a medium heat, add the flour and cook for 1 minute to make a roux. Pour in the milk a little at a time, whisking constantly, until you have a thick sauce with no lumps. Add the spinach, nutmeg and a pinch of salt and cook for 1 more minute. Remove from the heat, fold in the remaining ingredients and leave to cool.
- To make the pancake batter, mix the flour and milk in a bowl or jug, add the eggs with a pinch of salt and mix well with a whisk.
- Brush a large (around 30cm) heavy frying pan with melted butter and set over a low-medium heat. Pour a small ladleful of batter into the pan and tilt it to make a thin pancake. Cook for about 2-4 minutes on each side. Repeat with the remaining batter to make 6 pancakes in total.
- Heat the oven to 180°C fan/gas 6. Brush a high-sided baking sheet with melted butter. Put a spoonful of filling in the centre of each pancake. Fold over 2 edges to meet in the centre, then fold over the other 2 edges, making a parcel. Put the pancake parcels on the prepared baking sheet, sprinkle with the extra parmesan and cook in the hot oven for 12 minutes until crisp and golden on top.
- Recipe from August 2023 Issue
Nutrition
- Calories
- 402cals
- Fat
- 26g (15g saturated)
- Protein
- 19g
- Carbohydrates
- 24g (3.2g sugars)
- Fibre
- 0.5g
- Salt
- 1g
delicious. tips
You can make the pancakes and filling up to 1 day in advance and keep in the fridge, then just assemble and bake when you want to serve.
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