On December 25th, the Christmas broth is a must-eat dish on the Abruzzo tables. It takes a long time to prepare, it requires many ingredients, but you can make it ahead of time.

Here is Sara’s account of her personal version of the traditional dish (suitable for all occasions): a classic chicken broth with the “scrippelle mbusse” – savory stuffed pancakes, drenched in the broth. Buon Appetibilis!

Good things come in small packages

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“Scrippelle mbusse” are one of the most refined dishes of the Abruzzo cuisine, a reminder of French Crêpes – eggs, flour and milk are their main ingredients.

Traditionally you dust each crêpes with grated cheese, roll them in a sort of sigar shape, place them into a soup plate and finally pour hot broth onto them, hence the term “mbusse” (a local dialect term for “drenched”).

Here’s my very personal version of “scrippelle”. I’ve started by using a combination of buckwheat and wheat flour, stuffed them with a mix of ricotta and cheeses, and a touch of saffron. I shaped them like a small sack and tight it with cooking twine… and there you are, the delightful bundles are ready for the Holiday parties!

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Recipe: “The Scrippelle”, Savory Crêpes Surprise

Ingredients:

• 6 eggs
• 300 g wheat flour, Italian “00” (i.e. all purpose flour)
• 100 g fine buckwheat flour
• 3 glasses water or milk (around 450 mL)
• 400 g ricotta cheese (cow milk)
• 200 g Parmigiano cheese (grated)
• 200 g semi-hard cow milk cheese of your preference (grated)
• salt and black pepper to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon saffron
• 1 egg white
• 2 L chicken broth (or beef, or vegetables)

Special cookware

• a 24 cm nonstick crêpe pan
• cooking twine
• a balloon whisk

Directions

Star from pancakes – Take a bowl, crack the eggs, add flours, water and a pinch of salt. Whisk until you get a fluid and smooth batter. Let it sit for about 30 minutes.

Heat the crepe pan and grease it with none or little butter. Once it’s hot, pour enough batter to cover the pan center, while making a circular movement in order to evenly coat the bottom of the pan.

Cook for a few minutes and, when the edges start lifting, use a spatula to flip it over and cook for a couple of more minutes. Set aside for later.

Prep the stuffing – In a bowl place the ricotta with the cheeses, the saffron and an the egg white. Mix with a fork to obtain a thick creamy mixture, season and set aside.

Prep the Scrippelle – Place some of the stuffing in the middle of each crêpe (2 spoonfuls should do), gather end points as if it were a little sack and tie it with some cooking twine. Make a bow.

Place your tiny “sacks” onto a tray and bake it for a few minutes into a preheated oven at 180 °C. Meanwhile heat up the broth.

Plating

Place 2 Scrippelle into a soup plate and pour the hot chicken broth. Serve immediately…

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