A Muse in My Kitchen
Blintzes and Palatschinke
This is a recipe full of memories which crosses many chapters in my life.
Today I’m a bit melancholy and misty-eyed as I remember my (ex) Mother-in-Law who passed a year ago would make blintzes for the Jewish celebrations and my own Mother who now suffers from dementia, used this recipe to make Palatschinke, a favorite from my youth.
Mom used to make us Palatschinke after school – she couldn’t roll them up fast enough! She would fill them with apricot or strawberry jelly. While they were still warm, she would sprinkle them with powdered sugar.
I find it fascinating that this recipe crosses so many cultures.
The French call them ‘crepes‘…
The Russians call them ‘blini‘…
And the Jewish folks call them ‘blintzes‘…
What makes them different is what they do with the pancake.
The recipe is amazingly easy AND you can freeze the pancakes for later use.
Let’s start with the pancake…
Whip up a thin batter from flour, eggs, butter, milk, water and salt. Refrigerate for an hour to relax the gluten.
Heat an 8″ non-stick pan to where a drop of water sizzles in it. Spray lightly with an oil spray (I like the butter flavor variety).
Pour into the pan 1/4 cup of batter and immediately swirl around the hot pan until it forms a thin circle. Return to heat and cook until the middle is set and opaque. No need to cook the other side.
Stack cooked pancakes on waxed paper as you make the rest of the batter.
Now it’s time to reach the final destination.
First the Palatschinke…
Take a pancake and spread out your favorite jelly – I like raspberry, apricot or strawberry.
Roll up and sprinkle with powder sugar.
Enjoy these delectable little rolls of jelly – one bite and the jelly will be rolling down your hand! Yum!
I took these over to my Dad this afternoon and he gobbled them up while reminiscing of his Mother making them for him. Funny, while I made these to remember my Mother’s cooking and my youth – they touched the same chord in my Dad.
To make the Blintzes:
Mix a cheese filling with low fat cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, egg, vanilla and zest of lemon.
Put 2 – 3 teaspoons of cheese filling at the top of each pancake and roll up tucking the sides in like an eggroll.
At this point, you can freeze the blintzes for later use or prepare them. Simply saute in a non-stick pan lightly sprayed until brown on both sides. (If you are more adventurous, you can saute in butter!)
Serve with a dollop of sour cream and macerated strawberries.
For this recipe, I cut up fresh strawberries and tossed them with a tablespoon of sugar and lemon zest. I refrigerated for a few hours until the strawberries were juicy.
This is the PERFECT Mother’s Day breakfast or brunch recipe! Oh here I go again – down memory lane when my young daughters used to serve me breakfast in bed….a tray with burnt toast, a flower and little notes of love.
If we could all hold them a little bit longer…
Happy Mother’s Day!
- Crepes:
- 1 cup water
- ¾ cup milk
- 3 large eggs
- 5 tablespoons butter, melted
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1½ cups unbleached all purpose flour
- Cheese Filling:
- 1¾ cups (16-ounce container) cottage cheese
- 2 cups (15-ounce container) ricotta cheese
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- Crepes:
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk everything together to make a smooth batter.
- Place the batter in the refrigerator for 1 hour or longer, in order to relax the gluten.
- Heat an 8-inch (or slightly larger) crepe or omelet pan until a drop of water skips across the pan.
- Lightly grease the pan, and pour a scant ¼-cupful of batter into the middle.
- Tilt the pan and swirl the batter to completely coat the bottom with batter.
- Cook until the crepe is opaque and set.
- Transfer the crepes, “uncooked” side down, to a sheet pan or rack to cool.
- Note: you only cook the crepes on one side; this is sufficient to cook them all the way through.
- When you stack them, stack them “uncooked” side down, so that this side will be on the outside when you roll them.
- Cheese Filling:
- Place the cottage cheese and ricotta cheese in a colander lined with cheesecloth, or in a yogurt cheese maker.
- Let it drain for 1½ to 2 hours, pressing down lightly occasionally.
- For a smoother, creamier filling, blend all of the ingredients in a food processor.
- For a more traditional, grainier filling, simply mash the cottage cheese with a fork, and stir in the remaining ingredients.
- Assembly:
- Use approximately 2 rounded teaspoons filling for each 8-inch crepe. Place the filling about 2 inches from the top of the crepe, fold the sides in, fold the top down, then loosely roll the crepe into a log.
- This is the same as the procedure used to make eggrolls; the point is to contain the filling.
- Heat a medium-sized frying pan, and spray with oil spray.
- Saute the blintzes until they’re lightly browned and heated through. Alternatively, nestle the blintzes in a buttered 13 x 9-inch pan, and bake them in a preheated 350°F oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until they’re thoroughly heated.
