Melba's Jammin said:Puester said:Goomba38 said:
do blintzes ever come savory?
I think they are called crepes then.
Margaret could probably enlighten us, but IIRC, blintzes are
traditionally served with sour cream and applesauce, but blueberries are
common, too.
Also, I've only ever seen a blintz folded over the filling to make a
little packet, not rolled or folded like a filled crepe. Oh,
Ma-a-a-argaret, what say you? Or Bubba?
Just like other crêpes, blintzes can be folded or rolled any which way.
The envelope shape is just the most often used. And, just like other
crêpes, blintzes can be savoury or sweet. Look up some recipes in the
_2nd Ave Deli Cookbook_. Blintzes derive their name and their recipes
directly from Russian blinchiki (not to be confused with bliny, a
totally different thing). The only difference is that they are ideally
supposed to be kosher, so the recipes are adjusted accordingly. They
can have any filling... fruit or berries, jam, powidl (a very thick
jam-like plum or prune concoction), curd cheese, any kind of kasha,
potatoes, meat or poultry, mushrooms, fish (smoked salmon or lox), etc.
They are no different from the many French crêpes or pannequets.
Here are some blinchiki (blintzes, crêpes, etc.) recipes I posted
before.
Some notes: I personally prefer to cook blinchiki on one side only
before putting in the filling. I then put the filling on that side.
That way they won't be overcooked when fried further with the filling
inside. I also sometimes use water instead of milk and boiled meat
instead of fried. Those who like their blinchiki on the crisp side (I
don't) add some (less than a tablespoon) of vodka or cognac to the
batter. The thickness of blinchiki isn't mentioned in the recipe, but
it is understood that they should be as thin as possible.
*Meat-filled Blinchiki* (based on _The Russian Cookbook_ by Nina
Nikolaieff and Nancy Phelan)
For Meat Filling
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon salt
pepper
1 1/2 pounds finely-minced beef
1 large onion
2 tablespoons butter for frying
1 1/2 tablespoons flour
For Blinchiki
3 eggs
1 cup milk
1 1/2 cups plain flour
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cups water
4 tablespoons butter for frying
Make the meat filling first. Add water, salt and pepper to meat and mix
well. Chop and fry the onions in butter till light brown. Add meat to
onions, mixing all the time to avoid uncooked lumps and fry for about 10
minutes. When almost cooked sprinkle half the flour on meat and mix in
well; then add the rest of the flour and mix again. Cook for 3 minutes.
Remove from stove and leave to cool.
To make the blinchiki, lightly beat the eggs and milk together. Sift
the flour and salt together, add to eggs and milk and mix till smooth.
Add water and mix again. In a hot frying-pan put 1/2 teaspoon butter.
Pour in about 4 tablespoons of blinchiki mixture and cook on one side,
then on the other till light brown. Drain on grease-proof paper.
Continue process till all blinchiki are made.
Put 1 tablespoon of meat filling on each blinchik, not quite in centre.
Fold over a flap to cover filling, then fold in each side and finally
roll up remaining side, making a kind of envelope. Five minutes before
serving heat 1 tablespoon of butter in the frying-pan, put in the
blinchiki and brown all over. Serve hot, with broth or as a light lunch
or supper. This quantity should make 12-14 blinchiki.
*Curd Cheese (Farmer's Cheese) Blinchiki*
Blinchiki are made the same way as above - only the filling the cooking
method are different.
For Curd Cheese Filling
1 pound curd cheese (farmer's cheese)
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
vanilla extract
For Sauce
1 1/2 cups sour cream
1 tablespoon sugar
Preheat oven to Reg. 8: 450 F. Make the filling by mixing together the
cottage cheese, sugar and egg, adding vanilla to taste. Put 1
tablespoon of filling on each blinchik and fold as described above.
Heat 1 tablespoon butter in the frying-pan, put in the blinchiki and
lightly brown all over. When all are fried put them side by side in an
oven-proof dish which can be brought to the table, mix together the sour
cream and sugar, pour over the blinchiki and bake in a hot oven for 10
minutes. Serve hot.
These blinchiki can be served without oven-baking. The sour cream is
poured over each one after frying and they are ready to eat.
*Blinchiki with Jam*
This version is, of course, easy enough - just use your favourite jam (I
suggest Barb's Beety Beauty) as a filling.
*Ukrainian Blinchiki with Sour-Cherry Filling*
Pit the cherries, reserving the stones, put in a non-reactive dish.
Sprinkle with sugar and leave in a sunny, warm place for 2-3 hours or
longer. Pour off the juice, reserving it. Prepare blinchiki, fill them
with cherries and lightly brown all over as described above.
Meanwhile, crush 5-7 cherry stones roughly and put them together with
the rest of the stones in a non-reactive dish. Add about 3/4 cup water
and boil for a couple of minutes. Strain the liquid, discarding the
stones, add sugar and let it boil again. Take from the heat, let cool
and mix with the cherry juice. Serve with the blinchiki.
Bubba
