{La Guarida’s} Spinach Crêpes Filled with Chicken

I love to travel and, by far, the best way to get to know a country is to eat your way through it. I wrote about our visit to La Guarida here. One of their dishes, the very scrumptious spinach crêpes filled with chicken, have been on my mind ever since trying them and, thus, I was blissfully happy when I finally found the recipe in a cookbook*.

Let me tell you, these spinach crêpes are a real crowd pleaser. However, the recipe that follows requires lots of preparation but, first of all, it’s totally worth it and, secondly, all individual components can be made well in advance. The ingredients listed below will serve 2 to 3.

Preparing the crêpes is rather easy. Just put all ingredients in a blender and mix until the batter is thoroughly blended and smooth. Heat a non-stick skillet and pour the batter onto the centre of the pan. Tilt the pan in a circular motion until the batter covers the surface thinly and evenly. Cook the crêpes for about 2 minutes on each side and put aside when done.

To make the filling cut the chicken into small pieces. Pour oil into a large frying pan, heat and add the chicken. When the chicken pieces are lightly browned add the onion and garlic and cook until the onion is translucent. Pour in the rum and flambé. Then, add the butter, flour, spices and salt and cook for about 2 minutes. Finally, add the cream, broth, sherry, nutmeg and pepper and let it cook for another 10 to 15 minutes until the sauce is creamy and thick. Set aside.

At La Guarida the spinach crepes were served on a wild mushroom sauce and garnished with minced beet.

To prepare the mushroom sauce place dried porcini mushrooms into a small bowl, pour 200ml hot water over them and let them soak for about 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, drain the water but keep it aside and finely chop the mushrooms. In a skillet, heat the olive oil and add the finely chopped onions until they are translucent. Add the mushrooms and continue to cook for about 3 minutes. Stir in the flour and cook for another 2 minutes. Pour in the reserved mushroom liquid, the chicken broth and the sherry and let the sauce cook until it has thickened. Add salt and pepper and stir in the butter. Set aside. Just before you are ready to serve, stir in minced parsley.

Now all you need to do is to preheat your oven to 190°C. Place one crêpe at a time on a plate and add 1/4 of the chicken filling. Fold closed each crêpe upward and bind with a blanched chive stalk. Place the crêpes on a baking tray and bake them for about 10 minutes until warm.

To serve them, spoon some mushroom sauce onto a plate. Place a filled spinach crêpe in the centre of the plate and sprinkle some of the beet garnish around the crêpe. We also served fried plantains as a simple but delicious side dish.

Fried plantains are super easy to make. Just slice them thinly and, in the meantime, heat the vegetable oil in a frying pan. Place a batch into the hot oil and fry the plantains for about 2 to 3 minutes on each side until they turn golden brown. After frying, place the plantains onto paper towels to drain them and then they are ready to serve.

Once these crêpes are cut open the most creamy and delicious filling oozes out. I hope you enjoy this Cuban dish as much as we do.

*Recipe taken and adapted from: Eating Cuban: 120 Authentic Recipes from the Streets of Havana to American Shores by Beverly Cox and Martin Jacobs