Cheese Blintzes With Three Berry Compote Recipes

BAKED BLINTZES WITH FRESH BLUEBERRY SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-by-13-inch cake pan or baking dish.
• For the batter, place all the ingredients in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade and blend until smooth. (You can also use a blender.) Pour half the batter (about 1 3/4 cups) into the prepared dish and bake for 10 minutes, until set.
• Meanwhile, for the filling, whisk together the ricotta, mascarpone, eggs, and sugar in a large bowl. Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, vanilla, and salt and mix until thoroughly combined. Spread the cheese filling over the baked pancake. Carefully spoon the remaining pancake batter to cover the cheese.
• Return the pan to the oven and continue baking for 35 to 40 minutes, until the top is lightly golden and the filling is almost set. Remove from the oven and allow to stand 10 to 15 minutes. Cut the blintzes in squares and serve warm with the Fresh Blueberry Sauce.
• Combine the orange juice, sugar, and cornstarch in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. When the mixture is translucent and thickened, stir in the blueberries and simmer for 4 to 5 minutes, just until a few berries have burst but most are still whole. Stir in the lemon zest and lemon juice and cool.

CHEESE BLINTZES WITH THREE-BERRY COMPOTE

Steps:

• Filling
• If using cottage cheese, place in center of kitchen towel, gather towel around cheese and squeeze to remove excess moisture. Measure 2 1/2 cups packed cottage cheese (reserve remainder for another use). Combine 1 1/4 pounds hoop cheese or 2 1/2 cups packed dry cottage cheese and sugar in processor; blend well. Add eggs and salt; process until almost smooth, scraping down sides of bowl occasionally. Transfer to bowl. Cover and refrigerate. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Keep refrigerated.)
• Crepes
• Combine 1 1/2 cups water and eggs in blender. Add flour, sugar and salt. Blend on lowspeed until very smooth, stopping occasionally to scrape down sides of container. Pour batter into medium bowl. Let stand at room temperature at least 1 hour and up to 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
• Heat 10-inch nonstick skillet over high heat. Brush very lightly with oil. Transfer 3 tablespoons batter to small cup. Working quickly, pour batter into center of skillet; tilt and shake skillet to spread batter into 7-inch round. Reduce heat to medium-high and cook crepe until bottom is speckled brown, about 45 seconds. Loosen sides of crepe with spatula and turn out onto paper towel, cooked side up. Cover with paper towel. Repeat with remaining batter, brushing pan occasionally with oil and layering crepes between paper towels.
• Place 1 crepe cooked side up on work surface. Place 1/4 cup filling in 3-inch-long log just below center. Fold bottom of crepe over filling. Fold sides in. Roll crepe up, enclosing filling completely. Transfer blintz to plastic-lined platter. Repeat with remaining filling and crepes. (Can be prepared ahead. Cover and chill overnight or freeze up to 1 month. Do not thaw frozen blintzes before cooking.)
• Compote
• Combine all berries, sugar and lemon peel in large bowl. Let stand at room temperature until berries defrost, sugar dissolves and juices form in bowl, stirring occasionally, about 1 1/2 hours.
• Strain berry mixture thoroughly, reserving juices. Place cornstarch in heavy medium saucepan. Gradually add reserved juices to cornstarch, whisking until smooth. Whisk over high heat until syrup boils and is thick and clear, about 2 minutes. Transfer to bowl. Cool 15 minutes. Mix berries into syrup. Adjust tartness with lemon juice. (Can be prepared 3 hours ahead. Cover and chill.)
• Assembly
• Pour oil into 2 large nonstick skillets to depth of scant 1/8 inch; heat over medium-low heat until hot. Place blintzes seam down in skillets. Cook until bottoms are brown and crisp, shaking pans gently and moving blintzes occasionally to prevent sticking, about 6 minutes (for frozen blintzes, cover skillet for first 6 minutes). Using spatula, turn blintzes over; cook until blintzes are brown and crisp and blintzes feel firm when lightly pressed, about 5 minutes. Transfer to paper towel-lined platter. Place 2 blintzes on each plate. Spoon compote over blintzes. Top with sour cream. Sprinkle with lemon peel.

CHEESE BLINTZES WITH STRAWBERRY-RHUBARB COMPOTE

Steps:

• Make crepes:
• Stir flour, sugar and salt in large bowl. Whisk eggs, milk, butter and vanilla in medium bowl to blend. Add to dry ingredients and whisk until smooth.
• Spray with vegetable oil spray and heat over medium-low heat. Pour 2 tablespoons crepe batter into pan and swirl pan to coat bottom thinly. Cook until edge of crepe is light brown, about 1 minute. Loosen edges of crepe gently with spatula. Carefully turn crepe over. Cook until beginning to brown in spots, about 30 seconds. Transfer crepe to plate. Place paper towel atop crepe. Repeat with remaining batter, spraying pan with vegetable oil spray as needed and covering each crepe with paper towel, forming total of 16 crepes.
• For filling:
• Mix farmer cheese and cream cheese in large bowl to blend. Stir in sugar, egg yolks, vanilla extract and ground cardamom.
• Place 1 crepe on work surface. Place 2 tablespoons filling 3-inch-long log just below center. Fold bottom of crepe over filling. fold sides in. Roll crepe up, enclosing filling completely. Transfer blintz to plastic-lined dish. Repeat with remaining filling and crepes.(Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover; chill overnight)
• For compote:
• Simmer orange juice and honey in heavy medium skillet over medium heat until reduced by half, about 4 minutes. Add rhubarb and stir until just tender, about 3 minutes. Transfer to large bowl. Stir in vanilla extract and ground cardamom. Cover and refrigerate. (Can be prepared 6 hours ahead. Keep chilled.) Stir in strawberries.
• Preheat oven to 200°F. Melt 2 tablespoons unsalted butter in large nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Place 5 blintzes, seam side down, in skillet. Cook until golden brown and crisp, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer blintzes to baking sheet; keep warm in oven. Repeat with remaining 4 tablespoons butter and 11 blintzes in 2 more batches. Place blintzes on plates. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

CHEESE BLINTZES WITH STRAWBERRY-RHUBARB COMPOTE

Steps:

• BLINTZES: Using a blender, mix the eggs, milk and flour at low speed. Add the Grand Marnier. Once the batter is well mixed and coats the spoon with a thin film, refrigerate, covered for 1 hour in a pitcher or bowl.
• Stir the batter thoroughly and before making the crepes, test the liquid by dunking a spoon in the mixture; again, it should coat the spoon with a thin film. Adjust by adding milk if necessary.
• Using a 8-10" nonstick pan, spray with oil, and heat the pan over medium-high heat. Pour about one cup of batter to coat one pan. Once covered, pour a thin layer of batter into the heated pan, swirling to coat if necessary.
• When the crepes pull away from the edge of the pan in about 20 seconds, remove from the heat, tap them lightly or run a knife across the edge of the pan to release, and invert the crepes on a dry towel to cool. Stir the batter at brief intervals to re-suspend the ingredients.
• FILLING: Mix together the ricotta, mascarpone, sugar, vanilla extract, lemon zest and a small pinch of salt.
• ASSEMBLY: With the cooked side up, spoon about 1/4 cup filling inside the center of the wrapper.
• Fold and hold the two opposite sides of the crepe over the filling until they almost meet and then fold over the ingredients pulling the stuffing toward you.
• Fold the crepe over until you form a seam on the blintz. Set finished 2-inch by 1 1/2-inch flat "eggroll" shaped blintz on a dry towel with the seam side down.
• COOK: Melt butter or margarine in a skillet over medium high heat, beginning with the seam side down. Saute each blintz until golden brown, carefully so the cheese does not escape.
• Flip the blintz onto the other side. Lower the flame and cook slowly, about 2 to 5 minutes to avoid burning the crepe.
• TOPPING: Gently toss the rhubarb, strawberries, flour, sugar and lemon and let stand until moist, 5 to 10 minutes.
• In a large saucepan, melt the butter and add the fruit mixture. Cook the fruit for approximately 35 minutes, stirring to make sure the fruit does not brown. Cover 5 minutes or until rhubarb is soft.
• TO SERVE: Ladle the warm fruit over the blintz and top with a dollop of sour cream. Garnish with a fresh strawberry half.