Savoury Cheese Blintzes

Last week, I was lucky enough to find farmer's cheese (dry cottage cheese curds) at Ideal Grocery, in Lincoln. There's nothing better for making cheese fillings, but it is getting difficult to locate these days.

A blintz is a crepe that has been fried in clarified butter. Typically, blintzes are sweet, filled with fruit or a sweetened mixture of cheese and eggs. A sour cherry blintz served with a dollop of rich sour cream is a wonderful weekend breakfast, and in recent years I've even seen them filled with chocolate. Still, we have them most often as a savoury, and as I had both spinach and chard ready to harvest from the garden, the availability suggested this recipe to me.

Both the filling and crepes may be prepared ahead of time, then assembled and fried when ready to serve. The crepe batter will work better if permitted to rest for several hours before use. Allow at least two hours.

For the crepes:
1 cup cold water
1 cup milk (I used 2 %)
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups plain flour
4 tablespoons melted and slightly cooled butter

Combine water, milk, eggs, and salt. Whisk together. Whisk in the flour one cup at a time, then add the butter and whisk until smooth. Cover, and chill several hours.

To make crepes:
Pour out batter into a hot pan, tilt to cover and cook until top of crepe is dry. Flip, and cook about 30 seconds longer. Remove to a plate t cool. I find stacking them between sheets of wax paper helps keep them from sticking. When cool they can be stored in a plastic bag in the fridge.

For the cheese filling:
1 lb. dry cottage cheese curds
2 large eggs
1 cup cooked spinach, chard or whatever green you prefer
A good grating of nutmeg
Salt/pepper to taste
Heavy cream to moisten

Combine the curds, eggs, spinach, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Mix well. At this point you may need to add a bit of heavy cream to get a smooth enough consistency to your filling-this will be a matter of taste, but keep in mind it will thicken as it sits.

Chill the mixture well before filling.

To assemble to blintz:

Place a mound of filling in the bottom part of a crepe. Fold in the sides, then roll to enclose. Fry over medium heat in clarified butter until nicely browned on both sides.

Not health food.

If you have more blintzes than you need, they can be frozen before frying by wrapping them tightly in freezer paper. These are a great thing to have on hand in the freezer for a quick meal.

Serve with a good, thick sour cream (or skyr if you have it).

Now, you'll need a salad to go with that. How about a bit more dairy to go with all that dairy?

Thinly sliced cucumbers, radishes, fresh tarragon, thyme,lemon balm,  and dried dill. Salt, pepper, and a mixture of sour cream and buttermilk for the dressing. Scallions would be nice here as well, but I didn't have any. Serve well chilled.

The turnip greens have been harvested this week as well, but that's a recipe for another day.

Mushroom Crepes

Sit down, this is going to be a long recipe. Comfy? OK, let's talk about crepes. Or we can talk about serving white food on a white plate which is a very Midwestern thing to do except it is typically creamed cod and cauliflower. *shrug*

I filled these, and baked them with a white sauce in the oven. You could serve them just folded over the filling with a thin sauce atop them if you prefer, but I was going for a casserole effect, and a few subsequent meals out of it. These are closer to filled pasta shells, except I used rolled crepes.

The biggest problem I've encountered with crepes is not letting the batter rest long enough. some recipes say an hour is sufficient. I am telling you it is not. You need at least six, or overnight, at least for this particular batter. Hot pan, cold batter needs to be the mantra here, and you must work quickly once you pour. I can't tell you what pan/method will work best for you on your stove, with your ability. What I can tell you is to have all your equipment ready at hand, and make sure that batter is well chilled. Get yourself a very thin, flexible spatula (Oxo makes a nice inexpensive one) to help you flip. You'll find it is a useful tool for dislodging egg from a pan as well. There are many kitchen tools I could survive without, but good spatulas are a necessity.

Here's the batter recipe you'll want to prepare early in the morning. This is basically the Julia Child recipe, the only difference being I don't prepare it in a blender, and I use lowfat milk.
 1 cup milk (I use 1% because that's what we drink. There's plenty of fat in the eggs and butter so I wouldn't get too worried if you must use skim).
1 cup very cold water
4 eggs graded large
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons butter, melted (if using salted butter, omit salt above)
2 cups plain flour

Pour the milk, water, eggs, and salt into a bowl. Whisk until combined. Add 1 cup of the flour, whisking until smooth. Add second cup of flour and repeat. Finish by whisking in the butter. You can use a mixer, but I've always had good results with a whisk-it isn't a terribly heavy batter. The batter should be smooth. Cover it with cling film, and chill at least six hours before using.

Make your crepes in a hot pan over medium heat, tilting the pan as you pour so that the crepe will be even. Cook until top looks dry, flip and cook about 30 seconds longer. Remove to a plate with sheets of wax paper between the crepes. Cool before filling.

Meanwhile, make the mushroom and cheese filling:

1 lb. mushrooms finely chopped
3 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon crumbled dried sage
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/3 cup ruby port

Heat the butter in a heavy pan until melted. Add mushrooms and cook over medium heat until they have given off quite a bit of liquid. Add spices. Turn up heat to high, add the port and cook until the liquid is evaporated. Remove from heat and chill until needed.

For the cheese:
3 cups cottage cheese forced through a sieve, or ricotta. You can use low fat as long as you strain  the extra liquid away first.
1/2 cup finely grated parmesan (or other hard cheese). Plus 1/2 cup for topping before baking.
2 eggs or 3 egg whites
Mix together well.

Combine mushrooms and cheeses for the filling.

For the sauce;

4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons quick blending flour (I use Wondra for sauces)
1/4 teaspoon salt
Pepper to taste
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
2 cups milk (again, I use 1 % as there's plenty of fat to go round in this recipe)

Melt butter, add flour and cook until foamy. Slowly whisk in the milk. Add spices and cook until it comes to a boil and thickens. Remove from heat. If not using right away, pour a thin layer of cream over the top to keep it from forming a skin.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease the pan for easier cleanup(I use a 9x13 metal pan). Fill each crepe, and roll like you would a burrito tucking in the edges. Arrange them in the pan. Pour over sauce, then top with reserved cheese. Cover tightly with foil, and bake 30 minutes. Remove foil, and bake 30 minutes longer.

This is a heavy dish, so either serve it with a salad or vegetables lightly roasted in oil (I mean, really lightly). I has some green beans, carrots, and beets which also gave a bit of colour to an otherwise bland looking meal.

Re-heats beautifully in either a slow oven, or the microwave. We got a few meals out of this. I wouldn't freeze the finished dish, but any extra crepes may be frozen for later use.

Leche Frita-Fried Milk

The recipe makes quite a bit, so be prepared to only fry enough for one evening. I can't imagine too much complaint at having this a second or third) night. Mr. ETB has already asked me to try it with a chocolate custard. Coffee might be good as well. I guess we have a new favourite dessert.

From, Spanish, Published by Hermes House, 2004.

You Will Need:

2 1/2 cups whole milk
3 finely pared strips of lemon peel
1/2 stick cinnamon
1/2 cup caster sugar (just put your regular sugar in a grinder for a quick whirl)
4 tablespoons cornstarch (cornflour)
2 tablespoons plain flour
3 large egg yolks
2 large whole eggs (for coating later
8 tablespoons dry breadcrumbs
Sunflower oil for frying (I used soy)

I served mine with some nectarines cooked in vanilla sugar and lemon juice.

In a saucepan, bring the milk, lemon and cinnamon to a boil gently. Remove from heat, cover and let infuse 20 minutes.

In a large bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and flour. Whisk in the egg yolks and add a bit of the milk. Strain the remaining milk in, whisking and return to the heat. Over medium heat, whisking constantly, bring the mixture to a boil. Cook until it thickens and begins to pull away from the sides of the pan. Pour into an 8x8 heatproof pan and smooth the top. Cool, then chill until firm.

Pour 1/2 inch oil into a frying pan, and heat until quite hot. Cut the custard into squares. Beat the eggs in a shallow bowl. Dip each square first into the egg, then gently coat with the breadcrumbs. Remove to a clean plate until all are ready to fry. Fry the squares a few at a time, spooning the oil over the top until golden. Drain on kitchen paper.

Barley Loaf, Mushroom Timbales, and Savoury Cherry Sauce

I have been on my feet since 5 AM, and it is now 7 PM. It has been a wild day, complete with water collecting under the floorboards from the air conditioner. That little problem still isn't resolved, but thank goodness for dehumidifiers, and an unseasonably cool day. Unexpected chaos aside, I did manage to make a rather superb dinner. Up until the time I brought the meal to the table, I wasn't sure any of it would be edible. It was. They're eating it again tomorrow.

I harvested the last of my purple bush beans today. I'll miss them, and next year I've resolved to plant several more containers. I still cannot believe how well they grow in pots. The nasturtiums were another pleasant shock with respect to their hardiness. I always thought they didn't like extreme heat, but they survived our miserable summer, and are still producing enough leaves and flowers to keep us in late-season salads.

I served the mushroom timbales cold. You could serve them warm, though it might be a bit trickier to unmould. I'd let them stand a good ten minutes out of the oven before attempting removal. I used a whopping two pounds of mushrooms to make four timbales. I don't know what your budget is like, but I never would have made these had I not happened upon a fantastic mushroom bargain. These were plain, old white button mushrooms. I'm sure you could get exotic with these and use an assortment-but again, the cost might be prohibitive. I still have another five pounds of mushrooms to deal with tomorrow (hey, it was a really good bargain) which I suspect will become potstickers for the freezer, and/or pirogi.

The cherry sauce was an experiment that came together nicely. You don't really need to enrich it with cream-the reduction is rather flavourful and a small bit at the side of the plate would have been adequate. Since when have I ever left well enough alone. The boys liked it fine, but personally it seemed a bit rich with all the butter in the mushrooms.

Finally, the barley loaf. Unlike most vegetarian/meatless grain and vegetable loaves, this one, "actually tastes good". So claims my better half. This isn't vegan as it has eggs and cream in it. You could use broth and egg replacer, but then it wouldn't "actually taste good." Your call.

For The Mushroom Timbales:

2 lbs. mushrooms chopped as finely as possible (just chop the hell out of them with a chef's knife)
5 tablespoons butter
Salt/Pepper
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon crumbled dry sage
1 cup wine (if serving this with meat, use red otherwise use dry vermouth)
1 ounce cream cheese (or soft goat cheese if you have it)
4 well-buttered large ramekins

In a large, heavy pot melt the butter. Add the mushrooms, salt/pepper, thyme and sage. Cook over medium heat until the mushrooms have given off most of their water. Pour in the wine, turn the heat to high, and burn off all the liquid, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. You really want to get rid of as much liquid as possible. It won't be completely dry because of the butter, but you don't want liquid pooling in the pan. Try pressing down with the spoon-if water comes out, keep cooking. When you are satisfied that you have evaporated off most of the water, remove to a bowl and let cool slightly before beating in the cream cheese. You will note, I did not use eggs to bind this as they are not cooked further. If you prefer to bind with eggs, set the timbales into a water bath in a 325 degree oven for 25-30 minutes or until set. Pack firmly into buttered ramekins and chill until serving time. Unmould by running a thin knife around the edge, and inverting onto a plate. Makes 4 servings.

For The Barley Loaf:

1 cup dry pearl barley
2 cups vegetable broth
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup peas (frozen are OK-just thaw them rather than cook them)
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1 bunch scallions, chopped
1 large carrot, finely diced
1 cup green beans, French cut
1 small courgette, diced
2 cups fresh breadcrumbs
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon dried basil
Salt/pepper
3 large eggs, slightly beaten with 1/4 cup heavy cream
1 ounce Mozzarella cheese, finely grated

Soak barely in water to cover for 1 hour. Drain. Bring broth to a boil. Stir in barley, cover and simmer about 30 minutes or until most of the liquid has been absorbed. remove from heat and let stand 10 minutes.

heat the olive oil in a large, heavy pan. Add the carrots and green beans first and cook about 5 minutes until softened. Add the remaining vegetables and spices and cook until softened, but not done. In a large bowl, combine the vegetables, barley, cheese, and breadcrumbs. Mix in the eggs and cream. Mix really well, using your hands if need be.

Butter a large loaf pan (or 2 smaller ones) and fill. Don't be afraid to mash it in there, but don't overfill it. Bake about 30 minutes, or until it seems firm and the top develops a golden crust. Cool slightly before slicing.

For the Cherry Reduction:

25 sweet cherries, pitted and chopped
2 fresh prune plums, pitted and chopped
1/8 cup red wine vinegar
1/8 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary

Bring everything to a boil, and cook, stirring when needed until it has reduced to 1/4 of original volume. Remove to a fine sieve over a heatproof bowl. With a wooden spoon, mash the cherries and plums until they are forced through. This takes some time. Strain once more to make certain you catch all the bits of rosemary. You can serve this as-is, or enrich it with cream.

No-Bake Peach Cheesecake in Coconut Crust

The problem with cheesecake recipes is that they all want some ungodly amount of cheese, or sour cream, or condensed milk, or all of the above. I like to make a special dessert for our Friday night dinner (it isn't Shabbos without cake) but I draw the line at five packets of cream cheese! Actually, I draw it well before. Besides, cream cheese is expensive these days, and five packets turn it into quite a fancy dessert.

I improvised, with pretty good results. There was no possible way I would be convinced to use the oven in this weather, but I've had rather good success with stabilised whipped cream over the years-why not in cheesecake? I did toy with the idea of using gelatin, but I thought that might be getting into chiffon/Bavarian territory, and then I'd have to cook eggs. This was much, much easier, and I didn't need to waste my precious ice cubes for an ice water bath to cool custard.

I'm going to give aproximate amounts because it will depend a great deal on what sort of cheese you use, what the weather is like, what sort of confectioner' s sugar you have, etc. I can assure you, from experience, if you make extra whipped cream you will be unlikely to hear much complaint. I can honestly say, in all my years of baking for this family, I've yet to hear anyone whine:
"Mama made too much whipped cream! Now, we'll have to eat it all!"

The topping was just some over-ripe peaches, lemon juice and ginger cooked until thickened. I have extra of that as well, but I'm sure it will find the way to some toast at breakfast.

You Will Need:

For the crust:

2 cups well-toasted sweetened coconut flakes
4-6 tablespoons melted butter

I toast coconut in a pan over high heat on the stove, stirring with a wooden spoon. Again, you can light the oven and do it on a tray...but you don't need to.

Combine enough of the butter into the coconut to make a mixture that will stick together and press into a 9 inch spring form pan (you can of course use a larger or smaller size, the height will be slightly altered, but no terrible problem there). Chill while you prepare filling.

For the filling:

20 ounces (2 1/2 packets) full-fat cream cheese
2 cups heavy cream, whipped
1 cup confectioner's icing sugar (I prefer cane sugar for stabilising whipped cream, and I use a brand that includes cornstarch which also helps)
1/2 cup cinnamon sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Whip the cream until soft peaks form, then beat in confectioner's sugar until stiff. In another bowl, beat the cream cheese with cinnamon sugar and vanilla until very light. Add the whipped cream and beat on high speed with a hand mixer until smooth. Pile into prepared spring form pan, and chill several hours. Top with fruit preserves, or topping as desired before serving, with extra on the plate.

Passover Manicotti-Sort Of (Also makes great gluten-free blintzes/crepes)

I basically made some gluten free crepes with potato starch and eggs. You can use this recipe to make noodles, or crepes, or blintzes, or really whatever you like-they're versatile. Be warned, the first couple crepes will flop. I don't know why, they just will-but stick with it-the results are light and delicious...except for all the cheese, which isn't light at all. You know what I mean...


You Will Need:

About 6 cups of chunky spaghetti sauce (I made mine with tons of carrots, onions and red bell peppers)
About 4 cups grated cheese (I used Provolone and Pepato)

For the cheese filling:

2 cups full fat cottage cheese, drained and forced through a sieve
2 large eggs
A handful of grated mozzarella

For the crepes:

3 large eggs
1 1/3 cups cold water
6 tablespoons potato starch
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons cooking oil
Butter for the pan

With a hand mixer, beat together everything except the butter until thick like cream. heat a small (5 inch) pan and toss in a knob of butter. When pan is hot, pour in about 2 tablespoons of the batter (stir it between crepes to keep the starch from settling). Tilt to coat the pan and cook until dry. Turn, and cook a minute or two longer until golden. Transfer to a plate and make the next. I did not need to keep re-buttering the pan, but this will largely depend on your pan.

When cool, fill the crepes with the cheese filling, and fold closed. return to frying pan and fry in a bit of butter until browned nicely on both sides. Set aside on a plate.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In an 8x8 pan, cover the bottom generously with spaghetti sauce. Layer in the crepes, then cover with a layer of cheese. Repeat with a second layer finishing with sauce and cheese. Bake (on a baking sheet just in case) for about an hour. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting and serving.

Meatless Lasagna

I've probably made four lasagnas in my entire life. I don't know why-we enjoy it, and having leftovers is always nice.



One of the things I dislike about meatless lasagna is the tendency people have to fill it with watery vegetables like courgettes that just slide about in too little sauce and cheese. If I want tomatoes, courgettes and onion-I'll make ratatouille-not lasagna. I've tackled this problem by making a very vegetable-heavy spaghetti sauce. As a bonus, you get extra sauce for the freezer (why cook more often than you have to?).



I made the sauce a day ahead when I had time and tossed the lasagna together when I got home tonight. If you're really planning ahead, the cheese can be grated the day before as well.



This recipe makes a lot of food. We'll be eating it all week. I used whole milk ricotta because it was on sale at our market but normally, I wouldn't buy it. Part skim is fine. Cheese is a matter of taste, I guess. I had provolone and Parmesan on hand, so I used them. Mozzarella is traditional, but then, so is a layer of meat. Regular readers know I'm not a stickler for adhering to the recipe unless it is pastry. I call for whole tomatoes in a tin because that is what I buy-they are more versatile than chopped or stewed. If I need chopped, I chop them. I take this approach with pineapple rings too, as it is a simple enough matter to crush them. You can certainly substitute a tin of crushed tomatoes if that is what you have at home.





For The Sauce:



4 medium onions, chopped

4-5 cloves garlic, chopped

2 large sprigs rosemary, stripped and chopped

2-3 bay leaves

1 tablespoon dried thyme

1 tablespoon dried basil

1 teaspoon marjoram

6-8 medium carrots, sliced in thin rounds

12 oil cured olives, pitted and chopped

4 stalks celery, stripped and chopped

A good hearty grinding of fresh black pepper

4 tablespoons olive oil (plus more is needed)

2 4 ounce tins mushroom pieces, drained

1 large tin (28 oz.) of whole, Italian tomatoes, chopped, liquid reserved.

32 ounces of tomato sauce (I had 4 small tins)

2 6 ounce tins tomato paste





In a large, heavy pot heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, carrots, celery and olives. Cook until carrots and onions are softened. Add the spices and cook a few minutes until fragrant. Add everything else, bring to a boil and then cover. Reduce to a very slow simmer and cook the daylights out of it for five hours or so. Check it once in a while to make sure it isn't burning to the bottom of the pot, but basically, leave it alone.





For The Lasagna Filling:



4 cups whole milk ricotta

1 cup provolone cheese, shredded

1 cup Parmesan, finely shredded

1/2 cup chopped parsley

3 eggs

Pepper to taste



Reserve 1/8 cup of Parmesan and 1/8 cup provolone for topping. Mix everything else together in a bowl.



For The Pasta:

Cook according to directions and drain well. Use tongs to lift it in place because burning your fingers isn't fun.



In a 9x13 pan, cover the bottom with sauce. Layer sheets of pasta and then more sauce. Top with cheese mixture. Repeat until you reach the top ending with sauce. Cover with reserved cheese and cover with foil. Bake 45 minutes. Remove foil, bake 10 minutes more. Let stand 10 minutes at room temperature before cutting and serving.

Warning: Objects on the internet may appear larger than in real life. Lasagna is quite slimming.