Humble, light and bubbly, and – most importantly – paper thin, these crêpes are made out of the bare essentials (eggs, flour and water) and cooked in a cast-iron frying pan greased with lardo. The locals from Manciano like to tell the story that their ciaffagnoni (pronounced ‘chaf-an-nyoni’) were brought to France by a Maremman cook in the entourage of Florentine noblewoman Catherine de’ Medici when she married Henry II. For their crêpes, the French used richer milk instead of the water, and they cooked them in butter. It’s the same story that the Florentines like to tell about their crespelle.
Regardless of their history, the ciaffagnoni are delicious – and worth mastering. Creating these crêpes takes a bit of practice, partly due to the high water ratio of the batter and partly because they’re made so paper-thin. (They say that you should be able to make 10 crêpes with just one egg.) For more on making the perfect Manciano-style crêpe.
This is the most traditional ratio of eggs to flour and water, and is an easy-to-remember recipe. A dash of olive oil in the mixture (which isn’t traditional) can help make handling these delicate crêpes a little easier. The right pan makes every bit of difference. If you have a crêpe pan handy, that’s perfect. Otherwise, use a well-seasoned cast-iron or a non-stick frying pan – if the latter, you don’t need to grease the pan and you might find you don’t even need to sacrifice any crêpes at the beginning.
You can eat these any way you prefer, but some favourite toppings are the simplest – a sprinkling of sugar or a blob of jam for a sweet snack, or a sprinkling of grated pecorino cheese for a savoury one. Top your warm crêpe with these as soon as you can. Another delicious topping is fresh ricotta, sweetened with some sugar and cinnamon or a drizzle of honey.