The ficelle picarde is a typical dish from the Picardy region and is a great simple entrée. You can find this dish on the menu of lots of restaurants in Picardy and across the North of France. It is so well loved it is also eaten outside this region. It was first created in Amiens and was served as part of a meal for some well-known people where chefs had the task of coming up with a creative and original menu. This is when Marcel Lefèvre came up with the “ficelle picarde”, now the most famous regional speciality from Picardy. Bon appétit!
Ingredients
Preparation time: 30 min
Cooking time: 10 min
Serves 4
- 4 crêpes (see our crêpe recipe here)
- 4 slices of good quality ham
- 500g button mushrooms
- 20ml crème fraîche
- 100g grated gruyere - juice of 1 lemon - salt and pepper
Method
Make 4 crêpes following the traditional (non-sweetened) crêpe recipe.
Pre-heat the oven to 180°C.
- Wash and thinly slice the mushrooms. Fry them in in a little olive oil until there is no more liquid and they are nicely browned. Add the lemon juice and crème fraîche and season with salt and pepper. Leave to reduce for about 10 minutes.
- Leave the mushroom mixture to cool down slightly, then assemble the ficelles picardes: Put a crêpe on a plate and place a slice of ham on top, then along the centre put some of the mushroom mixture. Roll the crêpe up and place it in an oven proof dish.
- Repeat for the three other crêpes. Sprinkle the grated gruyère over the top of the ficelles picarde and then put in the oven for about 10 minutes until the cheese has melted and is a golden brown.
- Serve with a green salad to make it into a light meal, or on its own for an entrée.
