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1
Preheat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6.
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2
To make the crepes, sieve the flour into a large bowl and gradually mix in the milk, 300ml of water, eggs and butter, then whisk until smooth.
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3
Heat a medium-sized non-stick frying pan over a medium heat.
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4
Once the pan is hot, add a little of the vegetable oil.
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5
Then pour in a ladleful of the crepe batter and swirl the pan to spread out the batter and form a thin crepe.
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6
Cook for 2 minutes, flip the crepe over using a spatula, fish slice or palette knife and cook for a further minute on the other side.
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7
Slide the crepe out of the pan on to a plate to one side and place a sheet of kitchen paper on top to stop the crepes from sticking together.
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8
Repeat with the rest of the batter, one ladleful at a time and adding a little more oil to the pan between cooking each crepe, until you end up with a pile of 8 cooked crepes interleaved with sheets of kitchen paper.
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9
To make the mushroom filling, place the butter in a medium-sized saute pan over a medium heat.
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10
Once the butter has melted, add the shallots and cook for 2 minutes until they are soft, then add the garlic, mushrooms and thyme and cook for a further 8-10 minutes, until the moisture from the mushrooms has evaporated.
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11
Remove the pan from the heat, season with salt and pepper and sprinkle on the chopped parsley.
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12
Set aside.
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13
To make the bechamel sauce, place the milk, bay leaf, peppercorns and onion in a medium-sized saucepan and warm over a low heat but do not let the milk boil.
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14
In a separate medium-sized saucepan, melt the butter over a medium heat then add the flour to make a roux.
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15
Cook, stirring, for 2-3 minutes.
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16
Strain the warmed milk, discarding the aromatics, and gradually pour the milk into the roux, whisking all the time.
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17
Cook for a further 5 minutes until you have a smooth, thickened bechamel sauce, then season with salt, cayenne pepper and nutmeg.
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18
Take 2 tablespoons of the sauce and mix into the mushroom filling to bind that together.
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19
On a clean work surface, lay 2 crepes overlapping one another to give a large surface area and spread a quarter of the mushroom filling evenly over the crepes.
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20
Taking the end nearest to you, roll up into a Swiss roll shape.
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21
Cut the roll into 2cm-thick pieces.
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22
Repeat with the remaining 6 crepes and the rest of the filling.
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23
Heat a medium-sized frying pan over a low to medium heat, throw in the baby spinach and drizzle over the extra virgin olive oil.
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24
Cook for 2 minutes until the spinach leaves have wilted.
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25
Place the wilted spinach in the bottom of 4 x 5 inch/13cm round or oval individual gratin dishes, or use one large dish.
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26
Pour a little bechamel sauce over the top and then place a quarter of the slices of filled crepe roll on top, overlapping the slices slightly.
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27
Pour the remaining bechamel sauce over the top and sprinkle on the grated Parmesan.
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28
Place the 4 gratin dishes on a baking tray and put in the preheated oven for 8-10 minutes until the gratins are golden brown on top.
