Serves 6 to 8
• 4 oz. dried black mushrooms
• 3 Tbs. butter
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped
• ¼ cup red wine
• salt and pepper
• 2 large heads butter lettuce
• 2½ cups Béchamel Sauce
• 1 recipe Parmesan Crêpes
• ¾ lb. Gruyère cheese, grated
• tomato-pepper sauce
• 1½ Tbs. olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 cups fresh tomato purée
• ⅔ cup finely chopped roasted pimiento
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 to 3 Tbs. red wine
• salt and pepper
• garnish: paprika
1. Put the dried mushrooms in a large bowl and cover them completely with hot water. Let them soak while you prepare the tomato sauce.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet and sauté the garlic in it until it is golden. Add the tomato purée, chopped pimiento, bay leaves, and wine, as well as salt and pepper to taste. Simmer the sauce gently for an hour or two, until it is reduced by half and quite thick. Allow the sauce to cool slightly.
3. When the mushrooms have soaked for about ½ hour, take them, one by one, from the bowl and wash them each with great care to get rid of all the sand and grit. Strain the water in which they were soaked through muslin or through a coffee filter.
4. Put the mushrooms through a food mill, using the fine blade, or else mince them finely with a knife. Melt the butter in a large skillet and sauté the onions for a few minutes. Then add the ground mushrooms, a little red wine, some salt and pepper to taste, and at least 2½ cups of the strained mushroom water.
5. Let this mixture simmer gently, stirring it occasionally, until most of the liquid has been absorbed and it has the consistency of a thick mush.
6. Blanch the lettuce in a large kettle of boiling water, leaving them in for several minutes. When they are quite wilted, remove the heads, drain them thoroughly, squeezing out all the water, and chop the lettuce. Mix the chopped lettuce with a few spoonfuls of the béchamel sauce (just enough to bind it) and salt to taste.
7. Put a crêpe in the center of an ovenproof serving platter or a shallow baking dish. Spread it with a thin layer of the mushroom mixture, extending it evenly to the edges. Place another crêpe over this and spread it evenly with a thin layer of the tomato sauce. Put down another crêpe, a layer of the chopped lettuce, another crêpe, and an even, thin layer of grated cheese. Repeat this order twice more, just as if making a layer cake. Pour a little béchamel over the cheese on top, and sprinkle it lightly with paprika.
8. Prepare the second crêpe “cake” in the same manner, using the remaining mushroom filling, tomato sauce, and chopped lettuce. You should have about 1½ cups of béchamel sauce and a little grated cheese left over. Stir the cheese into the sauce.
9. Bake the crêpe cake in a preheated 400-degree oven for about 20 minutes. Heat the remaining sauce. Serve the crêpe cake by cutting it into wedges and passing the sauce separately.
