Ficelle picarde — Amiens, France

The ficelle picarde is a recent creation rather than an old dish: it was devised in Amiens in the 1950s, reportedly by a local cook working for a trade fair, and the town adopted it so thoroughly that it now appears on menus across Picardy. Its name refers to its thin, rolled shape, like a piece of string. A savoury crêpe is filled with a slice of ham and a duxelles of mushrooms cooked with shallots and cream, then rolled up tightly. The filled crêpes are arranged side by side in a baking dish, coated with more cream and a layer of grated cheese, and finished under high heat until golden. The mushroom filling is built by softening shallots in butter, adding the chopped mushrooms and letting the liquid they release evaporate, then binding everything with a portion of the cream, seasoned with salt, pepper and nutmeg. This mixture, along with the ham, is what the crêpe is rolled around before it goes into the oven. Recipes differ mainly in the cheese used for the topping — Gruyère, Emmental or a blend — and in how much cream coats the dish before gratin. Served as a hot starter or a light evening dish, the ficelle picarde is valued for combining a simple crêpe with a rich, warming filling.