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1 to 1½ tablespoons butter

An 8-inch nonstick skillet

1. Put the milk in a bowl and add the flour gradually, sifting it through a sieve if possible, while you mix steadily with a fork or whisk to avoid making lumps. When you have added all the flour, beat the mixture until it is evenly blended.

2. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating them in rapidly with a fork. When both eggs have been incorporated into the batter, add the salt, stirring to distribute it.

3. Lightly smear the bottom of the skillet with some of the butter. Turn on the heat under the pan to medium low.

4. Give the batter a good stirring, and pour 2 tablespoons of it into the pan. Tilt and rotate the pan to distribute the batter evenly.

5. As soon as the batter sets and becomes firm and speckled brown, slip a spatula underneath it and flip it over to cook the other side. Stack the finished crespelle on a plate.

6. Coat the bottom of the skillet with a tiny amount of butter, and repeat the procedure described above until you’ve used up all the batter. Remember to stir the batter each time before pouring it into the pan.

Ahead-of-time note You can make crespelle several hours in advance, or even days. If you are doing them days ahead of time, interleave them with wax paper before refrigerating. If you are keeping them longer than 3 days, freeze them.

Baked Crespelle with Bolognese Meat Sauce

For 4 to 6 servings

Crespelle (thin pancakes) produced with this recipe

Béchamel Sauce, prepared as directed, using 1 cup milk, 2 tablespoons butter, 1½ tablespoons flour, and ¼ teaspoon salt

1¼ cups Bolognese Meat Sauce, prepared as described

Whole nutmeg

Flameproof ware for baking and serving

Butter for smearing and dotting the baking dish

⅓ cup freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese

1. Prepare the béchamel sauce, making it rather thin, the consistency of sour cream. When done, keep it warm in the upper half of a double boiler, with the heat turned to very low. Stir it just before using.

2. After making or reheating the meat sauce, draw off with a spoon any fat that may float on the surface. Put 1 cup of the sauce in a bowl, add ¼ cup béchamel, and a tiny grating—about ⅛ teaspoon—of nutmeg. Mix well to combine the ingredients evenly.

3. Preheat oven to 450°.

4. Choose a baking dish that can subsequently accommodate all the rolled up crespelle in a single layer. Lightly smear the bottom of the baking dish with butter. Lay one of the pancakes flat on a platter or a clean work surface, and spread a heaping tablespoon of the meat sauce filling over it, leaving uncovered a ½-inch border all around. Roll up the pancake, folding it loosely and keeping it flat. Place on the bottom of the baking dish, its overlapping edge facing down. Proceed in this manner until you have filled and rolled up all the crespelle and arranged them in the dish in a single layer without packing them in too tight.

5. Mix the remaining ¼ cup meat sauce with the ½ cup béchamel, and spread it over the crespelle. Sprinkle with the grated Parmesan, and dot lightly with butter.

6. Bake on the uppermost rack of the preheated oven for 5 minutes, then turn on the broiler and run the dish under it for less than a minute, just long enough for a light crust to form on top. Let the crespelle settle for a few minutes, then serve at table directly from the baking dish.

Baked Crespelle with Spinach, Prosciutto, and Parmesan Filling

For 4 to 6 servings

Crespelle (thin pancakes), produced with this recipe

1 pound fresh spinach OR 1 ten-ounce package frozen leaf spinach, thawed

Béchamel Sauce, prepared as directed, using 2 cups milk, 4 tablespoons (½ stick) butter, 3 tablespoons flour, and ¼ teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon butter plus more for greasing and dotting the baking dish

3 tablespoons onion chopped very fine

½ cup chopped prosciutto

1¼ cups freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese

Whole nutmeg

Salt

Flameproof ware for baking and serving

1. If using fresh spinach: Soak it in several changes of water, and cook it with salt until tender, as described. Drain it, and as soon as