flipCheese Blintzes
Cheese Blintzes
Why this dish? Copland grew up above the family store in Brooklyn, in an Ashkenazi Jewish family. Blintzes—thin pancakes rolled around fresh cheese—were a classic dairy breakfast of this milieu, faithful to the 'light breakfasts' mentioned in his profile.
Thin pancakes folded into parcels around slightly sweet fresh cheese, browned in butter and topped with a dollop of sour cream. Simple, comforting, deeply New York.
When I was a kid in Brooklyn, above my parents' store, mornings often began with these little pancakes. My mother would spread the farmer cheese, roll the batter up tight, and let them turn golden in butter until they sang in the pan. A spoonful of sour cream on top, and there you have it—nothing complicated, like a simple melody you never forget. Believe me, it's the kind of thing you carry with you your whole life.
- •Wheat flour — a bowl (thin pancake batter)
- •Eggs — a few (bind batter)
- •Milk — as needed (thin batter)
- •Fresh farmer cheese — a good amount (filling)
- •Sugar — a pinch (sweeten filling)
- •Butter — generous (golden frying)
- •Sour cream (smetana) — as desired (topping)
Cheese Blintzes
Thin pancakes folded into parcels around slightly sweet fresh cheese, browned in butter and topped with a dollop of sour cream. Simple, comforting, deeply New York.
Why this dish? Copland grew up above the family store in Brooklyn, in an Ashkenazi Jewish family. Blintzes—thin pancakes rolled around fresh cheese—were a classic dairy breakfast of this milieu, faithful to the 'light breakfasts' mentioned in his profile.
When I was a kid in Brooklyn, above my parents' store, mornings often began with these little pancakes. My mother would spread the farmer cheese, roll the batter up tight, and let them turn golden in butter until they sang in the pan. A spoonful of sour cream on top, and there you have it—nothing complicated, like a simple melody you never forget. Believe me, it's the kind of thing you carry with you your whole life.
Ingredients (period version)
- Wheat flour — a bowl (thin pancake batter)
- Eggs — a few (bind batter)
- Milk — as needed (thin batter)
- Fresh farmer cheese — a good amount (filling)
- Sugar — a pinch (sweeten filling)
- Butter — generous (golden frying)
- Sour cream (smetana) — as desired (topping)
Ingredients
- Flour — 120 g (thin pancake batter)
- Eggs — 2 (bind batter)
- Milk — 250 ml (thin batter)
- Salt — 1 pinch (season batter)
- Fresh cheese like farmer cheese or well-drained fromage blanc — 250 g (filling)
- Sugar — 2 tbsp (sweeten)
- Lemon zest — 1/2 lemon (fresh fragrance)
- Butter — 30 g (frying)
- Sour cream — 4 tbsp (topping)
Method
- Whisk flour, eggs, milk, and salt into a smooth fluid batter; let rest 20 minutes.
- Cook thin crêpes in a lightly buttered pan, preferably on one side only (the uncooked side will receive the filling).
- Mix the fresh cheese, sugar, and lemon zest.
- Place a spoonful of filling on each crêpe, fold the edges in, and roll into a tight little parcel.
- Brown the blintzes in butter on all sides until well colored.
- Serve hot with a generous spoonful of sour cream.
How it was made : In Ashkenazi kitchens of Central Europe and later America, blintzes were rolled by hand and cooked on the corner of the stove. Farmer cheese, a low-fat fresh cheese, was sold by the lump in Jewish groceries of Brooklyn and the Lower East Side.
The contemporary twist : A brunch version: warm blueberry sauté instead of lemon, and sour cream whipped with a drizzle of maple syrup.
Sources : Joan Nathan, Jewish Cooking in America
Aaron Copland · Charactorium
