Read 1,000 Jewish Recipes Online
Authors: Faye Levy
1,000 Jewish Recipes (186 page)
6 to 8 tablespoons butter, room temperature, cut into small pieces
1.
Bring water,
1
â
2
cup milk, and salt to a boil in a heavy saucepan. Stir in couscous and raisins. Remove from heat, top with dates, and cover pan. Cook over very low heat, without stirring, 1 minute. Remove from heat. Let stand 5 minutes or until couscous softens. Add more salt if needed.
2.
Heat remaining milk to a bare simmer in a small saucepan or in microwave. Pour into a pitcher.
3.
Remove dates from couscous and put on a plate. Add butter to couscous and mix lightly with a fork. Mound hot couscous on a platter or spoon into a serving bowl and arrange dates on top. Serve couscous in bowls. Serve hot milk separately, for pouring over couscous.
Blintzes
 or
Â
One of the best-known and best-loved Ashkenazic foods, blintzes have become specialties in Jewish homes and Jewish delis throughout the United States. They can have a great variety of fillings, from sweet ones, like blueberry or apple for dessert, to mushroom or broccoli for appetizers or main courses. The most famous of all are cheese blintzes, which are served either as entrees or desserts.
Blintz batter is ready in a minute if you make it in a blender. You can keep prepared blintzes up to 3 days in the refrigerator if you wrap them tightly, or you can freeze them. To avoid tearing the delicate pancakes, bring them to room temperature before filling them.
Filling blintzes doesn't have to be an elaborate undertaking. Many cooks keep blintzes on hand because they are delicious with very simple fillings like good quality preserves or jam. When I was a child, a friend of mine often brought unfilled blintzes in her lunch box. That was just about the only item for which I would agree to trade my egg salad sandwich!
3 large eggs
About 1
1
â
3
cups milk, pareve rice milk, or water
3
â
4
cup all-purpose flour, sifted
1
â
2
teaspoon salt
2 to 3 tablespoons butter or margarine
Vegetable oil, for brushing pan
1.
To prepare batter in a blender, combine eggs, 1
1
â
4
cups milk, flour, and salt in blender. Blend on high speed about 1 minute or until batter is smooth.
2.
To prepare batter by hand, push flour to sides of medium bowl, leaving a large well in center of flour. Add eggs, salt, and
1
â
4
cup milk to well; whisk them briefly until blended. Using the whisk, gradually stir flour into egg mixture until mixture is smooth. Gradually whisk in 1 cup milk.
3.
Cover and refrigerate about 1 hour or up to 1 day. (Strain batter if lumpy.)
4.
When you're ready to sauté the blintzes, melt butter in microwave or in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir batter well. Gradually whisk melted butter into batter. It should have consistency of whipping cream. If it is too thick, gradually whisk in more milk, about 1 teaspoon at a time.
5.
Sauté batter to make blintzes (see
How to Cook Blintzes
).
Blintzes don't usually have herbs but I find them a lively addition to the classic. Use these savory wrappers for preparing appetizer or main course blintzes with meat or poultry fillings, such as
Turkey Blintzes with Leeks and Ginger
or for cutting into strips and serving in soups.
Blintzes are easiest to sauté in a nonstick crepe pan or skillet. I find smaller pans easier to handle so you can lift the pan and slide the blintz out onto a plate.
3 large eggs
1 cup chicken stock
3
â
4
cup all-purpose flour, sifted
3
â
4
teaspoon salt
Pinch of white pepper
1
â
2
teaspoon dried thyme
2 tablespoons vegetable oil, plus a few teaspoons for pan
2 teaspoons snipped fresh chives
1.
To prepare batter in a blender, combine eggs, stock, flour, salt, pepper, and thyme in blender. Blend on high speed about 1 minute or until batter is smooth.
2.
To prepare batter by hand, push flour to sides of medium bowl, leaving a large well in center of flour. Add eggs, salt, pepper, thyme, and
1
â
4
cup stock to well; whisk them briefly until blended. Using the whisk, gradually stir flour into egg mixture until mixture is smooth. Gradually whisk in
3
â
4
cup stock.
3.
Cover and refrigerate about 1 hour or up to 1 day. Strain batter if it is lumpy.
4.
When you're ready to sauté the blintzes, stir batter well. Gradually whisk 2 tablespoons oil into batter. Whisk in chives. Batter should have consistency of whipping cream. If it is too thick, gradually whisk in water, about 1 tablespoon at a time.
5.
Sauté batter to make blintzes (see
How to Cook Blintzes
).
How to Cook Blintzes
1.
Heat a 6- to 6
1
â
2
-inch crepe pan or skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle pan with a few drops of water. If water immediately sizzles, pan is hot enough. Brush pan lightly with oil. Remove pan from heat and hold it near bowl of batter. Working quickly, add 2 tablespoons batter to pan; add batter to edge of pan and tilt and swirl pan until base is covered with a thin layer of batter. Immediately pour any excess batter back into bowl.
2.
Return pan to medium-high heat. Loosen edges of blintz with a metal spatula, discarding any pieces clinging to sides of pan. Cook blintz until its bottom browns very lightly. Slide blintz out onto a plate, with uncooked side facing up. Top with a sheet of wax paper or foil if desired. Reheat pan a few seconds.
3.
Continue making blintzes, stirring batter occasionally with whisk. Adjust heat and brush pan with more oil if necessary. If batter thickens on standing, very gradually whisk in a little more milk or water, about 1 teaspoon at a time. Pile blintzes on plate as they are done.
Large blintzes:
Use an 8- to 9-inch skillet and 3 tablespoons batter for each blintz.
Buckwheat flour is popular for Russian blinis (yeast-raised pancakes) and French crepes. It also makes tasty blintzes. Use these blintzes for wrapping savory fillings such as
Broccoli-Cheddar Filling
or mushroom duxelles.
1
â
2
cup buckwheat flour
1
â
4
cup all-purpose flour
3
â
4
teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
1 cup water, plus more if needed
3 tablespoons vegetable oil, plus a few teaspoons for pan
1.
Sift together buckwheat flour, all-purpose flour, and salt in a medium bowl.
2.
To prepare batter in a blender, combine eggs, water, and flour mixture in blender. Blend on high speed about 1 minute or until batter is smooth.
3.
To prepare batter by hand, push flour mixture to sides of bowl, leaving a large well in center of flour. Add eggs and
1
â
4
cup water to well and whisk them briefly. Using the whisk, gradually stir flour mixture into egg mixture until batter is smooth. Gradually whisk in
3
â
4
cup water.
4.
Cover and refrigerate about 1 hour or up to 1 day. (Strain batter if it is lumpy.)
5.
When you're ready to sauté the blintzes, stir batter well. Gradually whisk 3 tablespoons oil into batter. Batter should have consistency of whipping cream. If it is too thick, gradually whisk in water, about 1 tablespoon at a time.
6.
Sauté batter to make bintzes (see
How to Cook Blintzes
).
I like whole-wheat blintzes with all kinds of fillings, both sweet and savory, especially those made of vegetables or fruit.
For simple meals the blintzes are flavorful enough to be served with such basic accompaniments as sour cream, yogurt, or melted butter. To these you can add any cooked vegetables you happen to have for a tasty supper blintz. The blintzes are also terrific with preserves, apple butter, honey, or cinnamon and sugar.
1
â
2
cup whole-wheat flour
1
â
4
cup all-purpose flour
3
â
4
teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
1
1
â
4
cups milk, plus more if needed
3 tablespoons butter or vegetable oil
A few teaspoons vegetable oil for pan