Blueberry blintzes: a sweet and creamy classic to break the fast on Yom Kippur

Epicurious.com

After a day of fasting on Yom Kippur, it's traditional to mark the end of the holiday with a breakfastlike dairy meal. Gentle and comforting on empty stomachs, dishes such as blintzes fit the bill.

This recipe is a classic -- a rich, creamy filling enhanced by a topping of lightly sweetened fresh blueberries. The crêpe-like wrappers can be made and filled a day ahead, so the only steps that need be done at the last minute are frying the blintzes and making the sauce.

Click here for a step-by-step slideshow on preparing blueberry blintzes.

Recipe


The filling of these classic cheese blintzes gets its perfect consistency from a mix of cottage and farmer cheeses. The latter, a drier version of cottage cheese, is available at most supermarkets.

A simple blueberry sauce tops off the dish. If blueberries aren't in season, frozen berries can be substituted. Use unsweetened, and do not defrost them before combining with the sugar and cornstarch.

Servings: Makes 12 blintzes

Ingredients

For crêpes
1 1/2 cups whole milk
6 large eggs
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/8 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter, melted

For filling
1 1/2 cups (12 ounces) farmer cheese
1/2 cup (4 ounces) large-curd cottage cheese (4% milk fat)
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
1 tablespoon sugar
pinch salt

For sauce
4 1/2 cups fresh blueberries (from 5 half-pint containers, picked over)
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch

For frying
4 tablespoons butter

Special equipment
Iron skillet or crêpe pan
Flexible metal or plastic spatula

Preparation

Make crêpes
In blender, combine milk and eggs. Add flour and salt and blend at low speed until smooth, less than 1 minute. Let batter stand 1/2 hour.

Have ready large plate or platter. Place skillet over moderately high heat, brush lightly with some melted butter, and heat until butter just begins to smoke. Pour 1/4 to 1/3 cup batter into pan, tilting to spread into thin, even layer. Cook until crêpe begins to "blister," edges curl slightly away from skillet, and underside is lightly browned, about 1 to 2 minutes. Use flexible spatula to flip crêpe out of skillet and onto plate, cooked side up.

Repeat with remaining batter, brushing skillet lightly with melted butter before cooking each crêpe. Stack crêpes, cooked side down, on plate and let cool.

Make filling
In large bowl, mash together farmer and cottage cheeses until blended. Add egg yolk, melted butter, sugar, and salt, and mix until combined.

Place 1 crêpe, cooked side up, on a plate. Place 2 tablespoons filling in center, and fold up bottom to cover filling. Fold down top, then flip over and fold in sides. Flip over again and place on a large plate. Repeat with remaining crêpes and filling. (Can be made up to 1 day ahead; cover and chill until ready to fry.)

Make sauce
In large saucepan, combine 3 cups blueberries, sugar, and cornstarch. Set over moderately low heat and stir gently until sugar dissolves. Raise heat to moderately high and boil, stirring occasionally, 3 minutes. Remove from heat and gently stir in remaining blueberries.

Fry blintzes
Heat 1 tablespoon butter in iron skillet over moderately high heat. Add 3 blintzes and fry until golden brown on both sides, about 1 to 2 minutes per side. Repeat with remaining blintzes. Serve hot with sauce.

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Sarah Kagan has been with Epicurious.com for more than five years and has been the site's food editor for the past two years. She has worked as an editor at culinary publications for a total of nearly ten years. She has written for the Zagat guides and Food Arts magazine, among others, and has appeared as a television cooking expert on MSNBC and NY1. A self-taught cook, Kagan credits her mom, an accomplished home chef, for starting her along her career path. Kagan lives in Brooklyn with her boyfriend, Jason. In her free time, she loves to travel, garden, and entertain.



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