Ficelle picarde
A dish from Picardy, created in 1950s Amiens and now served in every bistro in the region as a starter or light lunch. It is a crêpe rolled around a slice of ham and a mushroom filling, baked under crème fraîche and grated cheese. The key is a mushroom filling cooked dry — mushrooms hold a lot of water, and if you do not drive it off the crêpes go soggy and the sauce turns watery.
Your own work in that: 10 min.
- Crêpes 35 min
- Mushroom filling 15 min
- Rolling 10 min
- Baking 20 min
Step by step
0 / 8 doneCook six crêpes
Blend the flour, milk, eggs, melted butter and salt, rest 20 minutes and cook 6 crêpes 24 cm across, thin and lightly coloured. Stack them — the steam keeps them soft for rolling.
Ingredients: 130 g plain flour · 250 ml milk · 2 pcs eggs · 20 g butter · 1 pinch salt
Cook the mushrooms dry
Soften the chopped shallot in butter, add the very finely chopped mushrooms and cook over high heat 10 minutes, until all the water has gone and they darken. This is classic duxelles — without reducing, the filling is watery.
Ingredients: 400 g button mushrooms · 2 pcs shallots · 30 g butter · 100 ml crème fraîche · 6 pcs cooked ham · 1 pinch nutmeg · ½ tsp black pepper · ½ tsp salt
Until all the water is gone — only then is it ready.Bind the filling with crème fraîche
Off the heat stir in 100 ml crème fraîche, the nutmeg and pepper and salt to taste. The filling should be thick and creamy, not runny. Crème fraîche does not split like ordinary soured cream, being richer in fat.
Ingredients: 400 g button mushrooms · 2 pcs shallots · 30 g butter · 100 ml crème fraîche · 6 pcs cooked ham · 1 pinch nutmeg · ½ tsp black pepper · ½ tsp salt
Lay ham and filling on each crêpe
Heat the oven to 200°C. On each crêpe lay a slice of ham and spread two spoons of mushroom filling along one edge. Do not overfill — the excess squeezes out when rolled and baked.
Ingredients: 400 g button mushrooms · 2 pcs shallots · 30 g butter · 100 ml crème fraîche · 6 pcs cooked ham · 1 pinch nutmeg · ½ tsp black pepper · ½ tsp salt
Roll up tightly
Roll the crêpe tightly into a cylinder, starting from the filled edge. Ficelle means string — the rolled crêpe should be thin and long like a Parisian ficelle loaf.
Ingredients: 130 g plain flour · 250 ml milk · 2 pcs eggs · 20 g butter · 1 pinch salt
Tight and long — like a thin ficelle loaf.Lay seam side down in a dish
Arrange the rolls in a buttered dish seam side down, snugly side by side. With the seam underneath they will not unroll in the oven, and packing them tight keeps their shape.
Ingredients: 130 g plain flour · 250 ml milk · 2 pcs eggs · 20 g butter · 1 pinch salt
Pour over crème fraîche and add cheese
Spoon the remaining crème fraîche evenly over the rolls and cover thickly with grated cheese. The cheese should cover the whole surface — baked, it forms a golden crust under which the crêpes stay soft.
Ingredients: 200 ml crème fraîche · 100 g gruyère or Emmental
Crème fraîche and a thick layer of cheese — a golden crust.Bake until golden
Bake 20 minutes at 200°C, until the cheese is golden and the cream bubbles at the edges. Serve at once, one roll as a starter or two with green salad as lunch.
Ingredients: 200 ml crème fraîche · 100 g gruyère or Emmental
Before you start
Crème fraîche, not soured cream
Ordinary soured cream curdles into lumps in the oven. Crème fraîche or thick double cream survive baking and give a smooth, creamy sauce. Picardy uses only crème fraîche.
Duxelles ahead
The mushroom filling is classic duxelles and can be made two days ahead. Keep it chilled and cook the crêpes on the day — or cook them the day before and layer with paper.
Freezing before baking
The rolls without cream and cheese freeze well. Thaw in the fridge, pour over the crème fraîche, add the cheese and bake as fresh, adding 5 minutes.
