Making blintzes raises questions; just roll with it

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This article was published 03/03/2015 (3333 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Blintzes are one of those wonderful, versatile Eastern European dishes that have all sorts of passionately defended variations. You can find versions of the blintz in Russian, Ukrainian, Polish, Hungarian, Mennonite and Jewish cuisines. (And then there are blini, which are typically thicker and contain leavening.)

Classic Jewish blintzes tend to rely on a cheese filling, while Slavic recipes often use meat or mushrooms.

Even after you’ve decided on a filling, the blintz questions continue: Do you roll your blintzes into tubes, or fold them into tasty little packets? Then what? Do you bake the filled blintzes, or pan fry them, or even — a rare but reportedly fabulous variant — deep-fry them?

This week at Recipe Swap, our thanks go out to June Miller from Sandy Hook, who answered Kathy Maendel’s recent request for blintz recipes. June offers a recipe for baked cottage cheese blintzes that she likes to serve with sour cream and strawberries. I also added a savoury option, testing out a filling made with sweet potatoes and onions.

If you can help with a recipe request, have your own request, or a favourite recipe you’d like to share, send an email to recipeswap@freepress.mb.ca, fax it to 204-697-7412, or write to Recipe Swap, c/o Alison Gillmor, Winnipeg Free Press, 1355 Mountain Ave., Winnipeg, MB, R2X 3B6. Please include your first and last name, address and telephone number.

 

Cottage Cheese Blintzes

Crepes:

250 ml (1 cup) all-purpose flour

15 ml (1 tbsp) granulated sugar

5 ml (1 tsp) salt

4 eggs, beaten

375 ml (1 1/2 cups) whole milk

30 ml (2 tbsp) melted butter

 

Filling:

500 ml (2 cups) dry-curd cottage cheese

2 eggs (or 1 egg plus 1 egg yolk)

60 ml (1/4 cup) whipping cream

30 ml (2 tbsp) sugar

Pinch salt

5 ml (1 tsp) cinnamon (optional)

More melted butter and whipping cream, for baking

 

To make crepes: In a small bowl, whisk together flour, sugar and salt. In a medium bowl with hand mixer, beat eggs with milk. Add flour mixture and beat until smooth. Add melted butter. Batter should be fairly thin. If too thick, add more milk. In 15-cm (6-inch) greased pan over medium-high heat, add about 60 ml (1/4 cup) batter for one crepe and swirl around pan so that crepe is very thin. Fry for about one minute, then flip over for a few seconds. Remove from pan with brown side down. Repeat until all crepes are cooked.

To make filling: Preheat oven to 175 C (350 F). In a medium bowl with electric mixer, beat all ingredients until combined. Spread 15-25 ml (a generous tablespoon) of cheese filling on lower half of crepe. Roll and place in buttered 22×33 cm (9×13 inch) glass pan. Brush blintzes with melted butter and pour about 125 ml (1/2 cup) whipping cream on top. Cover and bake approximately 30 minutes or more, until crepes puff up and are golden in colour.

 

Tester’s notes: June serves her blintzes with sour cream and frozen strawberries. These crepes were very good — rich and eggy — and easy to work with (after the first one, which never quite succeeds). I let the batter rest in the fridge for one hour, as I usually do for pancakes and crepes. I worried my filling might be too runny, but it did thicken up during the baking process, and I like that it’s just a little bit sweet. This recipe makes about 16 blintzes.

Some cooks roll up their blintzes like cigars. Some roll the crepes to the halfway point, tuck in the sides and continue rolling to get a little rectangular package.

 

Sweet Potato Filling

500 g (1 lb) sweet potatoes or yams, peeled and cut into 2.5-cm (1-inch) cubes

15 ml (1 tbsp) olive oil

1 medium onion, finely chopped

30 ml (2 tbsp) butter

30 ml (2 tbsp) whole milk

Salt and pepper, to taste

Chopped fresh parsley or chopped green onions, for garnish

 

Preheat oven to 175 C (350 F). In large baking dish, toss sweet potato cubes with olive oil and bake for 50-60 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender but not browned or crisped. In medium pan over medium heat, sauté onions in butter until translucent but not browned. In medium bowl, mash the cooked potatoes with the milk and add onions. Add salt and pepper to taste. Makes enough filling for 8-10 blintzes.

 

Tester’s notes: I love sweet potatoes, so this recipe was perfect. Make sure to watch the sweet potatoes as they roast and stir them occasionally — you want them cooked through but not brown. This recipe made 8 generously filled blintzes. I placed the blintzes in a buttered 20×20-cm (8×8-inch) baking dish, brushed them with melted butter and baked in a 175 C (350 F) oven for 30 minutes, and then served garnished with green onions. You can also double this filling recipe to match the crepe recipe above.