Teramo Recipe: Scrippelle Mbusse (Crepes in Broth)
Welcome to the 1st Episode of ‘A day with Nonna Amina‘! We are going to share an informal moment with Nonna Amina every week. She is going to tell us a story, a recipe, a memory, a long-life tip, but the best of all you can experience an authentic moment with a Central Italian family in Abruzzo.
Enjoy the first episode of Nonna preparing a traditional dish ‘Le Scrippelle Mbusse’ the dialect for ‘Crespelle bagnate’ , literally ‘Wet crepes’, which are filled with Parmigiano, rolled up and served with the traditional homemade broth. Usually served at Christmas, but for us Teramani any moment is a good excuse to prepare and to eat it, even more!
The Story of the Scrippelle Mbusse
Always disputed between the French and the Abruzzesi: this dish has ancient origins and a legend says that it was born by a mistake.
Enrico Castorani, the Assistant Cook at the mess hall of the French officers based in Teramo, used to prepare crepes instead of bread. One evening, as usual, the chef was preparing them to serve dinner when, by mistake, he flipped over the crespelle in a bowl of hot broth. To mask this mistake, the chef decided to serve this side as a first course. The dish had an enormous success and has quickly become the symbolic dish of Teramo’s culinary tradition!
The interesting name of this dish ‘Scrippelle mbusse’ could be of French derivation mixed with the local dialect. In fact, ‘mbusse’ in the Abruzzo dialect means wet, and the word ‘scrippelle’ seems to derive from the French ‘crêpe’.
Below you will find Nonna’s Amina recipe of the ‘Scrippelle Mbusse’ or ‘Crespelle in broth’. Let us please know in the comments if you have ever made or tasted this dish or simple tell us what you think. Grazie
Difficulty
Medium
Preparation
40 minutes
Cooking
3 hours
Serves
6 people
Ingredients
For the Crespelle:
- 6 eggs
- 1 full tablespoon of flour per egg
- 1 cup of water per egg
- 200 grams of Parmigiano or Pecorino Abruzzese cheese.
For the broth:
- 350 grams of beef brisket
- Some chicken or pork, or as nonna says: Everything you can find!
- 350 grams of beef bones
- 1 carrot
- 1 celery stick
- 1 onion
- a piece of parmesan rind
- parsley
- salt
Tools
- Saucepot
- Frying pan
Preparation
Start preparing the broth by simmering together all the beef until all the scum is skimmed out, then add the rest of the ingredients and let it cook gently for about two to three hours.
While the broth is cooking, start mixing eggs with flour adding 1 cup of water per egg. Help yourself with some kitchen paper/towel and oil a frying pan (with oil or lard) and leave to heat for a moment. Using a ladle to scoop the batter little by little and bend and shake the pan to get thin ‘scripelle’. Cook them on a low flame, turn them with the help of a tooth stick, and once cooked leave them to cool over a table cloth. You can also prepare the ‘crispelle’ the evening before.
Fill the crepes with parmigiano or pecornio abruzzese, roll them and lay them in plates. Strain the broth, pour the hot broth on top, and serve. If you like you can add more cheese or ‘peperoncino’ on top.
Buon Appetito!