Isn't a blintz some kind of Jewish burrito?
A blintz [BLIHNTS] is as a crepe-like pancake that is folded around a filling, most often cheese-based.
Blintzes are associated with Eastern European and Jewish cooking, and can be made either sweet or savory. In the US, they are often served as a breakfast food, as a brunch item or as a dessert. Here are lots of options and recipe variations for this versatile dish.
I hope you find them delicious!
Making Your Own Blintzes
They say the right tool makes all the difference when doing a job
Blintzes for a big breakfast or brunch are best prepared the day or night before. We used to do them that way when I was a kid, with a little assembly line. First you mix up the filling, as it can just keep in a bowl in the fridge. Then you make your crepes. These are best fresh, so the night before is really about as early as you want to go with these. You can also make the batter and make the crepes as needed during brunch, but then you still have to cook them, so you might want to save the time of having to make them.
So, as my mom made crepes, I could help by making blintzes. You take each crepe, put a generous dollop or two of filling in it (depending on your crepe size) and then you fold it over. It's a lot like a burrito in that you fold one side of the crepe over the filling, then fold in each of the two ends, then roll the whole thing over onto the last side that is sticking out.
Despite photograph evidence to the contrary, a blintz should NOT be rolled up like a cannoli, fajita or eggroll, which is to say, it's not rolled up as a cylinder with the ends open. As you gently fry blintzes before serving, opens ends don't work. They let the filling spill out and burn onto your frying pan.
When folded up, blintzes are like little pillows, and they line up nicely in a broad baking dish which you can keep in the fridge overnight. Then, you just fry them up as needed right before serving.
So, as my mom made crepes, I could help by making blintzes. You take each crepe, put a generous dollop or two of filling in it (depending on your crepe size) and then you fold it over. It's a lot like a burrito in that you fold one side of the crepe over the filling, then fold in each of the two ends, then roll the whole thing over onto the last side that is sticking out.
Despite photograph evidence to the contrary, a blintz should NOT be rolled up like a cannoli, fajita or eggroll, which is to say, it's not rolled up as a cylinder with the ends open. As you gently fry blintzes before serving, opens ends don't work. They let the filling spill out and burn onto your frying pan.
When folded up, blintzes are like little pillows, and they line up nicely in a broad baking dish which you can keep in the fridge overnight. Then, you just fry them up as needed right before serving.
Blintz Basics
History and recipes
Oy, we could go on and on about blinztes.... it would make you deaf! Instead, here are some nice web sites to look at.
You'll find blintz history along with many recipes and blintz suggestions here.
You'll find blintz history along with many recipes and blintz suggestions here.
- What is Blintz ?
- A great definition and description of just what it is that makes a blintz.
- Blintzes - from yeshua connection
- Cheese Blintzes, plus Apple Blintz variation
- The Blintzes Blitz
- Would it be Shavuos without cheese blintzes? Try these great recipes in honor of the holiday.
- Cheese Blintz Recipe
- Cheese Blintz Recipe - Recipezaar: The World's Smartest Cookbook.
- Recipe Makeover: Low fat Blintzes
- Now here's a light cheese blintz that even a Jewish grandmother would love!
- Strat's Place - Daniel Rogov - Israel - Blintzes - The Heartland of Nostalgia
- Rogov's Ramblings - Israel - Blintzes - The Heartland of Nostalgia
- Breakfast Blintzes Recipe -- Mr Breakfast
- Another recipe from the world's largest database devoted solely to breakfast (Breakfast Blintzes)
- Blintzes
- Annie's mother's recipes. Makes about 20 blintzes.
- Blintzes
- Dairy or pareve recipes for making crepes and blintzes
- cheeseblintzes
- The recipe for this one also has a fantastic little diagram of how to fold/wrap a blintz.
- breakfast blintzes
- Breakfast thin pancake
The Worst Blintzes I Ever Ate
A confession
Obviously, the best blintzes in the world are my mom's.
I mean, it's the blintz taste that I learned first and you just don't shake a thing like that. All my good blintz experiences touch on that keystone somehow and because of that, they just don't stay memorable. Good blintzes are just a warm, happy feeling, like when you're full of them.
However, I can clearly and distinctly recall the worst blintzes I've ever eaten in my life. I kinda feel bad, but at the same time, I'm driven to help others avoid what I felt was a repulsive experience. The worst blintzes I've ever eaten in my life were the ones made by All You Knead on Haight Street in San Francisco.
Sorry....
Really, I am sorry. I love that place, their french toast breakfast is to die for and their dinners are home-style and hearty. I love the rest of their food. But their blintzes are evil.
I know I had them at least three times before I got it through my head that this was the place with the bad blintzes. Something in the filling is all wrong. There's some cheese that melts and gets stringy. It's so not right. Bart Simpson put it best when he once described something as able to both suck and blow at the same time. These are that, just in blintz form.
I'm not just saying this 'cuz of that time the painting fell off the wall and landed on me and my sister, that's totally different. And really, all their other food has always been great. Just, at this one place, skip the blintzes.
Blintzes for Brunch
These recipes are geared more towards blintzes as a brunch or tea time offering.
- Grandmother's Blintzes for Tea
- A Tea Time Tradition of sweet and savory blintzes for afternoon tea.
- Morning Coffee & Afternoon Tea: Blintzes for Brunch
- A blintz is basically a crepe (very thin pancake) filled with some kind of cheese filling. This is the recipe my mom used for many a morning brunch, and her blintzes were always a big hit. The recipe can be easily modified for a low fat meal.
- Blintz Casserole
- This recipe uses pre-made blintzes but makes a heartier casserole variation out of them which I think does better as a brunch item.
- Cottage Cheese Brunch Blintzes
- COTTAGE CHEESE BRUNCH BLINTZES
Source: San Jose Mercury News 4-15-98
Yield: 8 servings - Cheese Blintzes with Blueberry Coulis
- Makes 12 crepes or 6 servings
- Recipe for Cheese Blintzes from BirthingNaturally.com
- This variation uses whole-wheat flour for the crepe part and has a touch of honey and orange juice for flavoring. Making it very low-calorie but yummy.
Insta-Blintz!
get your blintz-making up to speed with these major ingredients
Savory Blintzes
These suggestions are for blintzes that are less sweet, and often serve very well as midday brunch.
- Spinach Blintzes
- These blintzes are filled with spinach or chard.
- Mushroom Cheese Blintzes
- I think this recipe would be great with fresh wild mushrooms!
- Savory Herbed Blintzes
- Savory Herbed Blintzes with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce
- Potato Blintzes
- POTATO BLINTZES Yield: serves 5
- Potato Blintzes
- Only 1 tablespoon of oil in the filling makes these a low-fat entree, and using ready-made
wrappers instead of crepes makes it an easy one. These freeze nicely. - Baja blintzes
- A Tex/Mex variation on the blintz
- Smoked Salmon Blintzes With Sour Cream And Chives Recipe
- These are done the traditional way, filled with lox (smoked salmon) and topped with sour cream. A wonderful holiday or Sunday brunch dish.
Share Your Blintz Opinions!
submit
-
Reply
-
scruffymind
Jul 30, 2011 @ 7:48 am | delete
- Some great information, but I was really hoping you would share the recipe that won you the "blintz off"
-
-
Reply
-
melody-thacker
Jan 5, 2011 @ 10:02 pm | delete
- I'm always meaning to make these, thanks for all the ideas! I've added this lens to my Kosher food lens.
-
by relache
relache
Rae's had four lenses earn LOTD, two lenses made it to #1 and four have purple stars. She's a Giant Squid (Sept. '07 100 class) and Squid Angel Emerit... more »
- 104 featured lenses
- Winner of 14 trophies!
- Top lens » Make Your Own Fairy Wings
Feeling creative?
Create a Lens!
Explore related pages
Crank Out Those Blintzes!
CucinaPro 1448 12 Inch Griddle & Crepe Maker
Amazon Price: $31.95 (as of 02/17/2012)
If you regularly like to make blintzes or need to make a lot of them, having a crepe maker will allow you to really speed up the process and make the quality of the batches more even overall.
Want to try some Blintzes?
Three (12 oz.) Boxes Of Frozen Homestyle Cheese Blintzes
Amazon Price: (as of 02/17/2012)
In case you've never had blintzes, here's the chance to order some and try them before you attempt making your own.
