Filloas stuffed with spinach, serrano ham and cheese

For 4 € 1.8 /pers. 275 kcal/100g

How to prepare pancakes stuffed with spinach, serrano ham and cheese.

Galician “ filoas ”, for those of you who have not yet identified them, are similar to French crêpes. A pancake that can be sweet or savory, and that can be enjoyed alone or with the filling that you like the most. If they are filled, we must always keep in mind that we need more consistency, making them thicker than usual. 

Recently, some friends told me that they had not tried pancakes and asked me the difference with the crêpes from French Brittany . Unlike these, in Galicia pancakes are never made with whole wheat flour nor are they served with eggs, sausages… although we can find, as in the past, their salty version, traditional pancakes prepared with broth .

This recipe in particular, although it is salty, I have made the cream base with milk and a little water, as if they were the sweet ones. In this way we give more prominence to the filling, leaving the “filloa” as a container, without adding extra flavor to the final result. The fillings they allow are almost infinite, depending on each person’s tastes. In this case we have combined spinach and Torre Nuñez de Galicia Calidade serrano ham which, mixed with a cream cheese, is delicious.

On the blog you can find delicious pancakes stuffed with hake , sweet pancakes with apple compote or delicious pancakes with pastry cream or chocolate .

In Galicia, “filloas” are made all year round, but they have a lot of prominence in pig slaughters (where there is also the “heavy” version, with a little bit of pig blood) and of course in Carnival, where they are the queens. of the after-dinner meal next to the ears and the fried flowers . These today are salty and I’m sure you’re going to love them, they’re delicious!

Preparation of the pancake dough

1. In a bowl, we beat the eggs. We add the milk, water and flour little by little, while we mix with a whisk. We want there to be no lumps. If necessary, give it a touch of mixer. We add a pinch of salt and that’s it.
2. We let the cream rest, while we prepare the salty filling. Ideally, it should take an hour to take shape, so plan the recipe well before getting to work.

Preparation of the spinach, serrano ham and cheese filling

1. We clean the spinach. We blanch them for 1 minute in boiling salted water. We drain, chop and reserve.  
2. We cut the onion into “brunoise”. In a frying pan with a sheet of extra virgin olive oil, fry for 5 minutes over medium heat. Now we add the spinach. We mix well. Season with salt and pepper to taste. We sauté for a couple of minutes.
3. Add the cheese, mix well. We chop the ham and also add it to the rest. We mix again. Finally, we add the chopped walnuts. We turn off the heat and let it rest, covering the pan.

Final preparation of the stuffed pancakes

1. In a frying pan with a good non-stick base, add a splash of olive oil and grease with kitchen paper. In the most traditional pancakes this is done with a piece of bacon or Galician spread.
2. When it is hot, add half a ladle of cream, moving the pan so that it spreads over the entire surface of the pan. They should not be thin or thick, but enough to hold the filling later. We have it over high heat for about 10 seconds, until we see that it sets and gains consistency, and we turn it over with a fork (or our hands).
3. If you’re not good with the fork, you can use the trick of turning the pancake over with a plate as if it were a potato omelet; as you gain practice, it will no longer be necessary.
4. The cook usually eats the first pancake or we throw it away because the pan is getting hot and it doesn’t look good. Every time we take a pancake out of the pan we must add a few drops of oil again. We are removing them on a plate. We reserve, covering them with a clean cloth.
5. Once ready, we add a little filling to each “filloa”. We close forming a handkerchief. We repeat the process with the rest. As a final touch, once plated, sprinkle with sweet paprika. 

Here you have a step by step in photos where I show how to prepare this recipe for pancakes stuffed with ham, cheese and spinach . Don’t miss any details so that they come out delicious.

Tips for pancakes stuffed with spinach, serrano ham and cheese

• In traditional salty pancakes, a broth is used, replacing the rest of the liquids (milk and water). This broth would mainly be the one made with backbone, ribs and pork shoulder, for example when we make a stew.
• This broth is left to cool once ready and degreased. This way we will have a wonderful broth ready for some incredible  Galician broth pancakes . There are differences in texture, flavor and smell with milk pancakes. These are pancakes that can be much thinner.
• They are full of little holes as if they were a lace and they have a different, unmistakable and wonderful flavor, even more so if we have the opportunity to enjoy them freshly made, delicious.
• Salty pancakes are a great option to eat more vegetables at home. Integrated into any filling, they are more hidden, and the little ones will eat them more eagerly. Being shaped like a handkerchief, they are eaten directly with their hands, something they also quite like.