Try this with me by Spanish Chef Karlos Arguiñano.

Karlos Arguiñano Urkiola is a popular Spanish chef, TV presenter and producer of his own cooking show: La cocina de Karlos Arguiñano (Karlos Arguiñano's kitchen). Karlos is famous for his practical cooking and presentation tips, cheesy jokes, amateur singing, and the catchphase "Rico, rico y con fundamento" ("Tasty, tasty and with nutritional value").

If you are in Spain, you can catch his show on Antena 3 at 20:15 Monday through Friday, which is just what I have been doing.

Tonight I am going to try my luck at an apparently easy and healthy recipe that I saw the other day on his show.

What are we making today? Cheesy Leek Crêpes with puree! I already bought my ingredients so I will let you know how they turn out tomorrow!

Okay, so I may know what you are thinking about... Leeks??? YUCK! I assure you that despite my dislike for leeks prepared in certain manners, if they are sauted nicely and mixed with other ingredients, they are great, add a nice crunch and are really healthy! Afterall, we all know that the Mediterranean diet is the healthiest in the world!

Cheesy Leek Crêpes with puree

(serves approx. 4 people)

Ingredients for the filling and puree:

• 4 leeks
• 250 grams of fresh pumpkin (a little over half a pound)
• 1 potato
• 100 grams of cheese (about a 1/4 of a pound - cut in 8 strips)
• Water
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Salt
• Parsley for presentation

Ingredients for the Crêpes:

• 1/2 liter of milk (2.11 cups)
• 2 eggs
• 200 grams of all purpose flour (a little under half a pound, about 2 cups)
• a small spoonful of butter
• Olive Oil
• Salt
• diced parsley

Preparation:

First you need to prepare the pumpkin and potatoe puree. Peel and chop up the pumpkin and the potato. Cook for about 15-18 minutes in a small saucepan with water and salt until tender. Beat with a hand blender, strain, and set aside.

Next, clean and chop the leeks. Saute in a frying pan on medium heat with a small amount of olive oil and salt. Cover the pan so that the vegetables sweat (soften in their own juice without browning). Strain and set aside.

To prepare the crêpe batter, in a tall container suitable for the hand blender, add the flour, milk, butter, eggs, dash of salt and parsley. Beat all the ingredients together well and let stand.

In a non-stick frying pan, heat up a dash of olive oil on medium heat. Cook the first crêpe and discard it. To make crêpes, pour in the batter and extend it by moving the frying pan until a thin layer of batter is covering the whole bottom of the pan. When bubbles appear meaning that the first side is done, carefully lift an edge of the crêpe with a fork and then use your fingers (BE CAREFUL NOT TO BURN YOURSELF) to flip the crêpe over. The second side will cook very quickly. Repeat the process but be sure not to stack the cook crêpes on top of eachother because if they are warm they will stick.

In each crêpe, towards once side, add a bit of poached leek and a strips of cheese. Roll the crêpe up and fry it lightly (until browned) on each side in a frying pan with a good amount of olive oil (extra virgin is not necessary for this step).

Presentation: Pour some of the pumpkin puree in the center of the plate, place two crêpes and decorate with a sprig of parsley.

¡Voila! ¡Qué aproveche! (enjoy your meal)

Check out other Spanish recipes at don Quijote

UPDATE: I changed the name of this dish because technically the pumpkin is only used to make the puree, but is not actually part of the crêpe!