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The dish
What fregnacce are
The filled crêpes of the L’Aquila tradition.
Fregnacce are thin crêpes made with eggs, milk and flour, filled with meat ragù and pecorino, folded into triangles or handkerchiefs and baked covered in sauce.
They are related to the scrippelle of Teramo and to timballo, but simpler: a few crêpes per portion, plenty of sauce and a golden crust on top. Every family has its own version: some add mozzarella or scamorza, others a pinch of saffron in the sauce.
What you need
Ingredients
Serves 4–6 (about 16 crêpes).
For the crêpes
- 4 eggs
- 500 ml milk
- 200 g plain flour
- A pinch of salt
- Oil or lard for the pan
For the ragù and filling
- 400 g mixed minced meat (beef and pork)
- 1 onion, 1 carrot, 1 celery stick
- 1 litre tomato passata
- Half a glass of red wine
- Extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper
- 120 g grated pecorino
- Optional: 200 g diced scamorza
Step by step
Method
- Make the ragù: fry the chopped onion, carrot and celery in oil, add the meat and brown it well.
- Deglaze with the wine, add the passata, season and simmer for at least an hour and a half, until the sauce is thick.
- For the crêpes, beat the eggs with the milk, then add the sifted flour and salt, whisking to a smooth batter; let it rest for half an hour.
- Lightly grease a non-stick pan, pour in a small ladle of batter and swirl to cover the base; cook for a minute on each side. Repeat until the batter is used up.
- Spread a spoonful of ragù and some pecorino (and scamorza, if using) on each crêpe; fold it in half and then in half again, into a triangle.
- Arrange the fregnacce in a baking dish coated with sauce, slightly overlapping; cover with more ragù and plenty of pecorino.
- Bake at 200 °C for 20–25 minutes, until the top is golden. Let them rest for 5 minutes before serving.
From our home kitchen
Tips
- The crêpes should be thin but not too thin, or they will tear when folded.
- You can make the crêpes the day before: keep them stacked in the fridge, covered with cling film.
- Keep some sauce aside to add halfway through baking if the dish dries out.
Note: the name is a popular, jokey one; in some parts of central Italy «fregnacce» also means an egg pasta cut into diamonds.
Gallery
Photos
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Tradition
History and trivia
Filled crêpes are one of the festive dishes of inland Abruzzo: they were made for Sundays, weddings and Christmas lunch, when there were eggs, milk and meat in the house.
The jokey, slightly cheeky name comes from dialect, as with many popular dishes of central Italy.
Did you know? filled crêpes are found all over Abruzzo under different names: scrippelle in Teramo, fregnacce in L’Aquila, crespelle in many homes along the coast.