Ever heard of dessert for breakfast? blintzes are one such befitting example.These Eastern European cheese-filled crepes might appear sinfully loaded with calories but my recreation here is completely diet friendly with no saturated fat(butter) and lightly sweetened.No compromise with flavors though,the luscious strawberry sauce and light cheese filling embellish the blintzes inside out.
The star ingredient of the stuffing in these blintzes is Italian cheese - ricotta.Ricotta cheese comes in different varieties ,common are,smooth texture Ricotta salata , toasty baked Ricotta infornata,sheep's milk ricotta,smoked ricotta and cow's milk fine-grained ricotta.
By-product of cheese making,made from the whey,the fresh Ricotta is one of the few cheese that comes in low-fat and also very affordable ,which is why,it is utilized more often in my cooking.For these blintzes I use the low fat fine-grained ricotta and blend it with a sweetener until creamy and smooth.
More often I like strawberries whole and juicy than cooked,but once in a blue moon the overly ripe ,do make it into sauces.Darker the interior of the berries are,more sweeter and richer it is in anti-oxidants.Mix in other kinds of berries in the sauce for an even berrilicious sauce.
Recipe : Blintzes With Low-fat Ricotta Cream And Strawberry Sauce
Makes 10 Blintzes
Ingredients
For Crepes
1 cup Whole wheat flour( fine ground)
1 1/2 cup low-fat or skimmed milk
1 large Organic egg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon canola oil for greasing the pan and sauteing the blintzes later.
For Ricotta Cheese Filling:
1 1/2 cups reduced fat ricotta cheese
1 teaspoon pure vanilla
2 tablespoon Organic Agave nectar or Pure honey
For berry Sauce
1 pint Fresh strawberries( or blueberries or raspberries),hulled and chopped
2 teaspoon corn starch or arrow root powder
2 tablespoon Organic Agave nectar or Pure honey
Method
Use a whisk and combine the flour,milk,egg,salt and vanilla is a large mixing bowl until batter is smooth consistency.Let stand for few minutes.
Meanwhile prepare the sauce.Combine the berries and honey in a heavy saucepan.Cook over medium heat until berries bubble and release their juices,about 5 minutes
Dissolve cornstarch or arrowroot in lemon or orange juice and add to the fruit along.Reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 2 to 4 more minutes until the mixture begins to thicken.Remove from heat and allow to cool.For a smoother sauce,mash or puree half the berries with a potato masher or in a blender.
Next make the crepes.Heat a non-stick medium size pan. Slightly grease(with oil) the pan using a kitchen towel and pour a ladle full of the crepe batter into the pan,tilt it ,to spread the batter around the pan until the mixture sets. Place back onto the heat and wait until small bubbles appear on the surface, then flip the crepe over. Cook for a few seconds on the other side and remove from the pan with a spatula. Repeat the same for the rest of the batter.
Prepare the filling by whipping together cheese,sweetener and vanilla in a blender until creamy smooth.
To Assemble the blintz,spoon about a tablespoon of the ricotta cream mixture over the center of each crepe. Fold the opposite sides of the wrapper over the filling. Lay them on a plate,seam side down.Finish assembling all of the blintzes.
Final step,saute the folded crepes(blintzes),heat about a teaspoon of oil in a non-stick pan and saute them,in batches of 4,about 2 minutes on each side,until crisp and lightly browned.
Drizzle the strawberry sauce and serve warm or cold with slices of fresh strawberries.
This is my entry for Weekend herb blogging #228,hosted this week by Prof Kitty from The Cabinet of Prof. Kitty
