The raffinatezza—refinement—of the food of Teramo is legendary. And the Teramani propose that it was, indeed, among them that crepes—called crespelle or scrippelle in dialect—were first fashioned. It was much later, they say, that their delicate, eggy secrets traveled to France via the gastronomic exchange during the epoch of the Bourbons. Often one finds the scrippelle plumped with a stuffing of mushrooms or a truffled paste of some sort, then gratinéed. Sometimes, they are composed into a timballo—a lovely molded cake, its layers spread with savory filling. Though they are luscious and a genuine part of the culinary heritage of the region, these fall too far, for me, from the ingenuousness of la cucina Abruzzese. The following, though, is a version of scrippelle that is more homespun, the one we eat always at a lovely Teramana osteria called Sotto le Stelle, Under the Stars. Our ritual is this. At about eight o’clock, we stop by at the Bar Centrale (the place most intelligently furnished with the splendid labels and vintages of Italian and French wines in all of Italy south of Rome, all of it accomplished with Abruzzese grace and humility by a man called Marcello Perpentuini). There we chat with Marcello and take an aperitivo. A bit before nine, Marcello telephones Antonio, the restaurant’s owner, orders a bottle of wine for us and tells him we’re on our way. We walk the few blocks through the quiet streets of Teramo to the little restaurant. Our wine has been opened, some lush plate of local salame and fresh, sweet pecorino laid on our table with warm breads, and, perhaps best of all, someone back in the kitchen is making our scrippelle.

　　

Ingredients

serves 6

　　

The Broth

10 cups good veal or beef stock, preferably homemade

　　1 cup good red wine

　　Sea salt

　　

Le Scrippelle

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

　　2/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons whole milk

　　2/3 plus 2 tablespoons cold water

　　3 extra-large eggs

　　2/3 teaspoon fine sea salt

　　3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus additional as needed

　　Just-grated pecorino

　　

The Broth

Step 1

In a large soup pot, bring the stock to a boil, reducing it over a lively flame for 10 minutes before adding the wine and reducing it for 5 minutes more. Taste the stock, sprinkling it with a bit of sea salt, if necessary. Cover the broth and let it rest while you make le scrippelle.

　　

Le Scrippelle

Step 2

Place the flour in a medium bowl. Combine the milk and water. With a wire whisk, stir the liquids into the flour, beating constantly to form a smooth batter. Whisk in the eggs with the salt, again beating constantly and vigorously before beating in 3 tablespoons of the oil. Cover the batter and permit it to rest for an hour or so in the refrigerator.

　　

Step 3

Stir the rested batter, thinning it with drops of water or milk should its consistency be thicker than good heavy cream.

　　

Step 4

Heat a heavy, 6-inch crepe pan over a lively flame. When the pan is hot, brush its surface with olive oil and ladle or pour in a scant 1/4 cup of batter, tilting, maneuvering, the pan so that its bottom is completely covered. Cook the scrippelle for 30 to 40 seconds, turning it over gently with your fingers, or a spatula, and cooking the other side for 20 seconds. Remove the crepe to a holding plate, brush the pan with more oil, pour in the batter, tilt the pan, and while the second scrippelle is cooking, quickly dust the cooked scrippelle with pecorino, rolling it up tightly and setting it aside. Proceed with the pouring, tilting, cooking, flipping, dusting, and rolling until all the scrippelle are ready.

　　

Step 5

Now bring the broth to a simmer. Place two or three or more rolled scrippelle into each soup plate, cutting them in half should they fit better that way. Ladle over the hot broth and dust the dish generously with pecorino.

　　A Taste of Southern Italy