Russ & Daughters' Blintzes
Niki Russ Federman & Josh Russ Tupper
Photo by Photo by Gentl & Hyers
- Serves
- Makes 12 to 14 Blintzes
Blintzes are a perfect example of why our Cafe menu has a section called Sweet rather than Dessert. Blintzes can, and should, be eaten any time of day—breakfast, afternoon snack, or at the end of a meal. Originally, in the Old World, blintzes were a recipe made for Shavuot, the holiday which celebrates both the end of the wheat harvest and the giving of the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai. An Ashkenazi specialty, the word blintz is related to the Russian blini and means pancake. By the time they started appearing on the menus of dairy restaurants in the Lower East Side, blintzes had been shorn of their religious overtones. (We’ve been making them, for instance, for at least the last thirty years.) Who doesn’t like a svelte silken pancake which holds soft sweet cheese in its embrace? Why wait an entire (lunar) year when you can eat them all the time? Savory blintzes, theoretically, also exist, frequently filled with mushrooms, but our family only knows them to be sweet, filled with sweetened farmer’s cheese and topped with blueberry compote (though your favorite jam will also suffice).
-Niki Russ Federman & Josh Russ Tupper
Ingredients
For the Crepe Batter
- 2 cups whole milk
- 4 large eggs
- 1⅓ cups all-purpose flour
For the Filling
- 1½ pounds farmer’s cheese
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
To Cook and Assemble
- 6 to 7 tablespoons unsalted butter
Directions
To Make the Crepe Batter
- Step 1
Combine the milk, eggs, and flour in a blender and process until smooth, or mix by hand with a whisk until all clumps disappear. Strain the crepe batter through a fine-mesh strainer. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or up to 1 day.
To make the Filling
- Step 1
Combine the farmer’s cheese, sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon in a large bowl and mix with a large spoon or sturdy whisk until well combined. Cover and place in refrigerator. (Makes 3¼ cups.)
Cook and Assemble
- Step 1
Melt 4 tablespoons of the butter and reserve by your cooktop. Brush a heavy 10-inch nonstick skillet with just enough butter to coat and place over medium heat. When hot, ladle in just enough crepe batter (about ¼ cup) to coat the bottom of the skillet. Tilt and swirl the skillet in a clockwise motion until the batter is evenly spread in a thin layer across the pan. Allow the crepe to cook undisturbed until it is set and a pale color with very little browning, 1 to 2 minutes. Use an offset or nonstick spatula to lift the edge of the crepe, then use your fingers to carefully flip the crepe and cook on other side for just 30 seconds to 1 minute. Place the cooked crepe on a flat plate.
Repeat the process, brushing the skillet with melted butter each time, to make about 12 crepes, stacking them on top of each other on the plate. Let cool to room temperature, then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until completely chilled, at least 1 hour, or up to 1 day
- Step 2
Spoon 2 heaping tablespoons of the chilled filling into the center of one crepe. Fold over a third of the crepe from the right and a third of the crepe from the left and then roll the crepe up from the bottom burrito-style. Set on a plate or tray seam side down and refrigerate, covered, for at least 1 hour.
- Step 3
After the blintzes have rested and set-up in the refrigerator, melt 1 tablespoon butter in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Working in batches, place the blintzes in the pan, seam side down, making sure they do not touch, and brown gently on one side for 2 minutes. Flip and cook another 2 minutes to brown the other side. Lower the heat to low if the blintzes are browning too quickly. Repeat with the remaining butter to brown all the blintzes.
- Step 4
Serve the blintzes immediately (or rewarm from room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes in a 250°F oven) with the blueberry compote.