Shrimp-Filled Crêpes can make an elegant and delicious dinner, but the secret is in the sauce. It requires a deeply flavored fumet made from the shrimp and its shells. Although Shrimp-Filled Crêpes require several steps and numerous ingredients, everything can be prepared a day in advance, then gratinéed at the last minute. For a brief history of crêpes, click here.
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For the Crêpes
Place all the ingredients, except for the vegetable oil, in a food-processor or blender container—or if using an immersion blender (as I prefer to do), in a deep bowl. If using a small food processor, you may have to process the batter in two halves. Blend until the batter is smooth and homogenized. Scrape down any flour that’s stuck to the container with a rubber spatula, and blend again. Cover and refrigerate the batter for at least 3 hours or overnight.
Brush a crêpe pan or a small, shallow skillet with the vegetable oil, and set it over moderately high heat until it just begins to smoke. Lift the pan from the heat, and pour a scant 1⁄3 cup of batter into the pan, immediately begin tilting the pan in all directions until it makes a perfect circle. Return the pan to the heat for 1 minute or so until the bottom is lightly brown speckled.
Pour crêpe batter in the pan.
Flip the crèpe with a with a spatula, and cook the other side for just 30 seconds.
Flip the crêpe.
The first crêpe never looks presentable, and the bottom side should always be hidden when serving. Makes 12-14 crêpes.
You can make these well in advance, stack them on a plate with a piece of wax paper in between each crêpe, then cover and refrigerate.
For the Filling
In a large skillet, heat the olive oil. When very hot, place the unpeeled shrimp in one layer in pan. Heat just until the shrimp turn pink and appear cooked through.
Fry the shrimp in their shells.
Peel the cooked shrimp, reserving the peels in a saucepan. Add 1 cup of water to the skillet in which the shrimp were cooked, and deglaze the pan over high heat for 2-3 minutes, scraping up any coagulated fragments of shrimp. Pour this water over the shrimp shells in the saucepan. Add an additional cup of water, 1 cup of dry white wine or dry vermouth, the bay leaf, and the clove.
Cook the shrimp shells.
Bring the contents of the pan to a boil, then simmer the mixture for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Strain the liquid (which is a shrimp fumet) from the shrimp shells into a large measuring cup.
Strain the shells.
Discard the shells, bay leaf, and clove. Add enough whole milk to the measuring cup to make 3 cups of liquid. Pour the liquid into a saucepan and set aside.
Mince the shallot, and cook it gently in 3 tablespoons of butter in a separate saucepan.
Cook the shallots.
Add the remaining 1⁄2 cup of white wine or vermouth and the 1⁄3 cup of Madeira or Sherry to the saucepan. Bring the wine and shallots to a boil, and continue to boil for for 2 minutes. Lower the heat to a simmer.
Add the wines to the shallots.
Cut the peeled, cooked, shrimp into 1⁄2-inch dice and add it to the saucepan with the shallots and wines.
Dice the shrimp.
Cook the shrimp covered for 2 minutes. Remove the cover and increase the heat, boiling the mixture until the wines are almost evaporated.
Cook the shrimp with the shallot mixture.
Add the minced tarragon, dill, and thyme, and season the shrimp to taste with salt and pepper, then set aside.
Add the herbs.
Bring the saucepan containing the shrimp fumet plus milk to a boil.
In a separate larger saucepan, melt 6 tablespoons of butter. Whisk in the 1⁄2 cup of flour, and continue whisking for 3-5 minutes, without allowing the mixture to brown.
Cook the butter and flour.
When the flour is cooked, whisk in the boiling shrimp fumet plus milk and cook until the mixture is thickened and smooth.
In a small bowl beat the 2 egg yolks with the 1⁄3 cup of heavy cream. Gently beat in about 1⁄2 cup of the cooked flour mixture to temper the egg yolks so they won’t scramble.
Beat the egg yolks and cream.
Then add the egg-yolk mixture back into the pot with the cooked flour mixture, cooking gently for about 2 minutes. This is now your velouté. Stir in the 1⁄2 cup of grated Swiss cheese.The mixture should be quite thick.
Add the cheese.
Remove about 1⁄2 the sauce to another bowl. This will serve as the outer coating for the filled crèpes. To the other half of the sauce remaining in the saucepan, stir in the shrimp. Taste for salt and pepper.
If you are not using the shrimp filling and separate sauce immediately, dot them with pieces of the remaining tablespoon of butter to prevent a skin from forming. They can be refrigerated, if necessary, at this point.
To Serve Shrimp-Filled Crêpes
Place a large spoonful of shrimp filling on the lower third of the bottom side of the crêpe.
Place the filling on the crêpe.
Then roll the crêpe into a cylinder.
Roll the crêpes.
Arrange the filled crêpes in a shallow baking dish, cover with the sauce, and sprinkle some extra Swiss cheese over the top.
Cover the crêpes with sauce and cheese.
If the sauce seems to thick, it can be thinned out with a little cream. Brown the crêpes slowly under a moderately hot broiler.
Brown the crêpes.
Serve the Shrimp-Filled Crêpes sprinkled on top with one of the herbs used in the filling.
