Mixed Berry Three Cheese Blintzes

To download a cookbook-style copy of the recipe for Mixed Berry Three Cheese Blintzes, click HERE.

Blintzes – eastern Europe’s simple and delicious version of a crepe – are perfect for breakfast, a light lunch, or dessert. This week’s recipe, Mixed Berry Three Cheese Blintzes, takes an early Kissing the Cook post for blintzes and reworks it in a new – and, I think, better - way.

Although fruit fillings are often used, the classic blintz is filled with a sweet cheese mixture made with cream cheese and either farmer cheese, cottage cheese or, in more modern versions, ricotta. This recipe combines both fruit and cheese. For the syrup topping and the fruit in the filling, I used a blend of fresh strawberries and fresh blueberries. For the cheese filling, to be consistent with the blintz’ eastern European origins, I combined farmer cheese (which has a consistency similar to ricotta) with the cream cheese and cottage cheese. If you don’t have farmer cheese available, or otherwise prefer not to use it, no need to worry; my grandmother, originally from Kiev, used cream cheese and cottage cheese in her blintzes.

A Cook’s Note before we begin:

• A significant difference between this recipe and typical blintz preparations is that blintzes are normally cooked twice: once to cook the crepe, and once to fry or bake the filled blintz to brown the outside and cook the eggs in the filling. In my version, there are no eggs in the filling; except for the warmed mixed-berry syrup on top, the blintzes are served cold or room temperature instead of fried or baked. It’s an unusual way to serve a blintz, but having grown up eating the ones my grandmother made this way, I can assure you it can work wonderfully. (It’s still possible to fry or bake them if that’s what you prefer.)

The following recipe makes about 10 blintzes. Here’s what you’ll need:

For the crepes: 1 cup AP flour; ¼ tsp salt; 2 Tbsp melted butter substitute; 2 egg-substitute eggs; 1-1/2 cups skim milk; and butter substitute or oil for cooking crepes

For the cheese filling: ½ pound farmer cheese; 1 cup low fat cottage cheese; 8 ounces low fat cream cheese, softened; 3/8 cup sugar; 1/8 tsp cinnamon; 1/4 tsp salt

For the fruit syrup and filling:

1 cup granulated sugar; juice of ½ lemon; ½ teaspoon salt; pinch ground nutmeg; 1 lb. fresh strawberries, hulled and quartered; 1 cup fresh blueberries; confectioner’s sugar for garnish

First, we’ll make the crepe batter:

Combine flour and salt in a bowl, and form a well. Pour the egg-substitute eggs and skim milk into the well. Add the melted butter substitute and mix into the other liquids in the well.

Once the liquid ingredients in the well are combined, gradually mix in the dry ingredients. The result should be a thick batter with the consistency of heavy cream.  Cover with plastic wrap and let rest in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours.

While the crepe batter is resting, prepare the cheese filling and mixed berry syrup and filling as follows. To make the cheese filling:

Put all the filling ingredients into a bowl and mix until well combined and fairly smooth. Refrigerate until needed.

To prepare the syrup topping and fruit filling:

Place a small glass plate in the freezer and put the granulated sugar and the lemon juice into a saucepan. Stir the mixture in the saucepan until the sugar is dissolved.

Add the salt, nutmeg and strawberries and turn the heat on very low. Cook until the strawberries are softened but not mushy, about 10 minutes.

Add the blueberries and cook until softened, about another 10 minutes.

Strain the fruit mixture, retaining the liquid. Set the fruit aside to cool.

Return the liquid to the saucepan. Simmer the liquid until a few drops cooled on the frozen plate have a syrup consistency. Set aside till needed.

While the cooked fruit is cooling, cook the crepes as follows:

Heat a large non-stick pan over medium heat; remove the pan from the heat and melt about 1 tsp of butter substitute. Add about ¼ cup of batter, swirl around to cover the surface of the pan, and put it back on the heat.

When the crepe is lightly browned on the bottom and firm enough to be flipped (usually about one to 1-1/2 minutes, but keep an eye on it), turn or flip the crepe and cook on the opposite side till it has the desired brownness.

Stack the crepes on a plate, covered with a clean towel to keep from drying out. Repeat the above steps for each crepe, rebuttering the pan as needed.

Working one at a time, prepare the blintzes as follows:

Lay a crepe out flat. Put 1/4 cup of cheese filling half-way between the center-line and edge nearest you.

Place a little of the mixed berry mixture on top of the cheese.

Fold the crepe as you would a burrito. First, fold the edge nearest you over the filling.

Fold in the left and right sides.

Roll the crepe away from you to form the blintz.

To serve:

While warming the reserved mixed berry syrup, sprinkle some confectioner’s sugar on a plate as a garnish.

Place one or two blintzes on the plate, and pour a little of the syrup on top.

To download a cookbook-style copy of the recipe for Mixed Berry Three Cheese Blintzes, click HERE.

Hope you enjoy the comfort of this very special dish! And please visit again next week. Till then, stay well, keep it about the food, and always remember to kiss the cook. ;-)

Mediterranean Style Dinner Plate Part 1 – Israeli Couscous with Roasted Tomato and Olives Topped with Oven Fried Falafel Patties

To download a copy of the recipe for Israeli Couscous with Roasted Tomato and Olives in cookbook-style format, click HERE.

 

To download a copy of the recipe for Oven Fried Falafel Patties in cookbook-style format, click HERE.

 

Although it’s great either by itself or as a side dish, this week’s recipe post for an Israeli couscous with roasted tomato and olives, served with oven-fried falafel patties, is Part 1 of a two-part vegetarian “Mediterranean Style Dinner Plate” concept. The remaining items on the plate will be presented as Part 2 next week.

 

The idea behind the plate is simple: I wanted to put together a unique, easy-to-make meal packed with both taste and nutrition. For all of those things, it’s hard to beat Mediterranean style ingredients. This week we’re taking Israeli couscous, with its delicious pearly texture, and topping it with falafel patties whose chickpea goodness has been made even healthier by oven-frying instead of the usual pan-frying.

 

This recipe makes four servings.

 

You’ll need the following ingredients.

• For the falafel: 1-3/4 cups (15 ounces) canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed; 1/2 cup of onion, diced; 3 garlic cloves, rough-chopped; 1 tsp fresh squeezed lemon juice; 1 tsp ground cumin; 1 tsp ground coriander; ¼ tsp red pepper flakes; 3 Tbsp dried parsley; 1 tsp salt; pinch fresh ground black pepper; ½ cup AP flour; breading station (1/2 cup AP flour, 1 egg-substitute egg, 1/2 cup plain dry bread crumbs seasoned with ¼ tsp each of salt, ground cumin, and ground coriander); cooking spray; and tahini (optional for garnish).

• For the couscous: 1 pint grape tomatoes, halved; ½ tsp salt; 2 Tbsp olive oil; 1 cup uncooked Israeli couscous; pinch of ground cinnamon; 1-1/2 to 1-3/4 cup vegetable stock; ¼ cup small green olives, quartered; 1-1/2 Tbsp dried parsley; and 1 tsp dried basil.

 

Begin pre-heating the oven to 400 degrees.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To make the falafel mixture:

 

Place the chickpeas, onion, garlic and lemon juice in a food processor.

Process until coarse.

Add the cumin, coriander, red pepper flakes, parsley, salt and pepper and process until smooth.

Transfer to a bowl. Add enough of the flour, a little at a time, to give the mixture a consistency similar to a sticky dough.

Transfer the mixture onto a work surface and cut in to eight equal pieces. Form the pieces into balls about 2” in diameter. Press the pieces slightly to flatten to about ½” thickness.

To prepare the breading station:

Place flour in a bowl or plastic bag; the egg-substitute in a bowl to the right of the flour; and place the seasoned bread crumbs in a bowl or plastic bag.

To bread the falafel, working one piece at a time:

Dredge the piece slice in the flour to coat.

Dip the piece in the egg-substitute till coated. Shake off the excess.

Place the coated piece into the bread crumb bag and toss to coat.

Place each coated piece onto a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicon baking sheet, and let rest in the refrigerator for 15 – 20 minutes.

While the falafel pieces are in the refrigerator, start preparing the couscous.

Place the tomatoes, skin side down, on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicon baking pad. Season with the salt. Roast the tomatoes until well cooked, about 20 minutes.

While the tomatoes are roasting:

Begin bringing 1-1/2 cups of the vegetable stock to a boil in a small saucepan.

Heat the olive oil in a non-stick pan over medium-low heat and add the couscous and cinnamon. Heat until lightly toasted, about five minutes, stirring often.

Add the couscous to the hot vegetable stock.

Cook until the liquid is absorbed, about 8 – 10 minutes, stirring often, reducing the heat to low for the last two minutes. If necessary for the couscous to cook completely, add the remaining ¼ cup of stock.

Add the tomatoes, olives, parsley and basil, and mix to combine. Set aside till ready to serve.

When the falafel pieces are ready to bake:

Spray them with cooking spray.

Bake for about 12 - 14 minutes until lightly browned. Turn the patties over, spray again, and reverse the position of the baking tray for even baking. Bake for another 12 - 14 minutes until the falafel is cooked through and the coating is crisp.

Serve the falafel on the couscous, with an optional "shmear" of tahini spread on top.

To download a copy of the recipe for Israeli Couscous with Roasted Tomato and Olives in cookbook-style format, click HERE.

 

To download a copy of the recipe for Oven Fried Falafel Patties in cookbook-style format, click HERE.

 

Be sure to visit again next week for Part 2 of the Mediterranean Dinner Plate: Roasted Red Pepper Hummus, and Eggplant in Garlic and Honey Sauce. (Or, as they used to say in the movie serials, “To Be Continued…”) Till then, stay well, keep it about the food, and always remember to kiss the cook. ;-)