Cheese Blintzes

How quick does this time of year roll around ...

 Shavuot commemorates the anniversary of the day G-d gave the torah to the entire nation of Israel assembled at Mount Sinai. Dairy foods such as cheesecake, cheese blintzes and cheese kreplach among Ashkenazi Jews, cheese sambusak, kelsonnes (cheese ravioli) and atayef (a cheese-filled pancake) among Syrian Jews; kahee (a dough that is buttered and sugared) among Iraqi Jews and a seven-layer cake called siete cielos (seven heavens) among Tunisian and Moroccan Jews are traditionally consumed on the Shavuot holiday. Yemenite Jews do not eat dairy foods on Shavuot.

Cheese Blintzes

 

Among the explanations given in rabbinic literature for the consumption of dairy foods on this holiday, before the torah was received, the Israelites were not obligated to follow its laws, which include shechita (ritual slaughter of animals) and kashrut. Since all their meat pots and dishes now had to be made kosher before use, they opted to eat dairy foods.

For those who celebrate Shavout, or just enjoy the delicious creamy, sweet, soft cheese blintzes ... here is a really simple easy and delicious recipe.

Batter: 

1-1/2 cups milk

3 eggs

2 tablespoons butter, melted

2/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

In a small bowl, combine the milk, eggs and butter. Combine flour and salt; add to milk mixture and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours. It is really important to let the mixture rest before making the crepes. The mixture can easily be made a day prior and refrigerated overnight.

Blintz batter

Now to making the crepes. The best fry pan to use, is a heavy based small Le Creuset pan, as it holds the heat and the crepes don't stick to the pan. We are lucky enough to have an electric crepe maker, that must be easily 100 years old (well perhaps not that old) and is full proof for kids to use and wonderful when busy in the kitchen.

Using a fry pan:

Place the batter into a large jug. Heat the frying pan on a medium temperature. Lightly grease pan with a little butter on a paper towel. Whilst holding the fry pan in one hand, pour the batter into the pan with the other hand. Lift and tilt pan to evenly coat bottom. Cook until top appears dry; turn and cook 15-20 seconds longer. Remove to a plate. Repeat with remaining batter. When cool, stack crepes, 5 at a time, in between plastic wrap. Wrap in foil; refrigerate. 

Using a crepe maker:

Place batter on a large plate that holds a small amount of liquid (see above). Heat crepe maker and when ready, turn crepe maker over and dip into the batter, pushing down to completely cover the base of the surface. Turn back and let it rest on the bench to cook. The crepe is cooked when the outside of the crepe is golden. Repeat with remaining batter. When cool, stack crepes, 5 at a time, in between plastic wrap. Wrap in foil; refrigerate.

Crepe Maker

NB. No matter how you cook your crepes, the first crepe rarely turns out, so DON'T panic, this is common, as the pan is not seasoned, only after the first crepe has been made. Make sure you clean off all crumbs with paper towel before proceeding further.

Making Blintzes

 Now for the filling:

500 gm cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup sultanas

zest of 1 lemon

In a blender, process cream cheese sugar and vanilla until smooth. Add sultanas and lemon zest, stir to combine.

Cheese Blintz filling

Place spoonfuls onto each crepe. Fold opposite sides of crepe over filling, then roll up blintz, forming a little bundle. 

Folding Cheese Blintz

Folding Cheese Blintz

These blintzes last all week in the fridge, only, and only, if they are hidden from the kids.

Cheese Blintzes

For an extra special treat, we lightly pan fry the blintzes, just before service. Heat a non stick fry pan, place blintz top side down and cook 1 minutes until lightly golden.

Cheese Blintzes

 To serve, sprinkle with icing sugar. Other options include using farm cheese and or ricotta cheese and serving blintzes with a berry coulis.

Cheese Blintzes

Let me know how you go and feel free to ask any questions. 

Don't forget to check out our Shared Table on Facebook at  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Shared-Table/121816364572861

Ciao, Mel

Jewish Muslim Interfaith Cooking Day - Middle Eastern Style

How wonderful to walk into a busy kitchen where all the beautiful women are working together..... the smells, the chatter, the hustle and bustle of a Middle Eastern kitchen, is so inviting, so warm, and so so delicious.

All hands were on deck, rolling out the dough for the homemade Manakish. This is a Lebanese style pita, is traditionally cooked over an open fire, on a dome griddle. the dough is brushed with either a za'atar which consists of olive oil, wild thyme, culinary sumac and sesame seeds, or the traditional topping called kashk of dried yoghurt, soaked buckwheat, finely chopped tomatoes, chillies and fresh herbs.

 Next on the menu was Nadia's homemade Falafel. A deep fried ball or patty made from ground chickpeas, garlic, parsley, cummin and coriander. The Arabic word means "a unit" ط ع م, and when translated meaning "a little piece of food". Falafel has become a common form of street food in the Middle East.  

The fried patties are regularly eaten as part of meze. During Ramadan, falafel is sometimes eaten as part of the 'iftar, the meal that breaks the daily fast

after sunset^. Falafel became so popular that Middle Eastern McDonald's now serves a "McFalafel".

 

 Fatimah made a traditional Lebanese dish called Fetteh. It is made of layers of toasted or baked pieces of pita bread and chickpeas which are covered with a thick layer of seasoned yoghurt and topped with roasted pine nuts and chopped parsley.

 

 

                                   

                                        

We ended the day on a wonderful sweet treat, making Ma'amoul. these are small shortbread pastries filled with dates, pistachios or walnuts.

Now what I love about our Interfaith cooking days, are the similarities we share as women, the passion we all have for food, for family and for tradition.

But as I have just discovered, we share far more than we all realise. Many households keep a stock of Ma'amoul all year round, but they are particularly used on religious festivals. Muslims eat them at night during Ramadan, and Egyptian Jewish communities, eat Ma’amoul during Purim.

And today in Modern Jewish homes, we celebrate our festival of Purim, eating Hamentaschen, date filled sweet pastries. 

We truly are family !!!!!

until next week, ciao, Mel

Jewish Muslim Interfaith Cooking Day - Israeli Style Shabbat Dinner

This week, we visited Our Big Kitchen (OBK). It  is a kosher and halal approved commercial kitchen located in Bondi. The kitchen is open to anyone who wants to use it to empower themselves or to help others. The kitchen was built by donations and runs on donations – of goods and services, food and most importantly, donations of time by volunteers.

 

Here are some biscuits that were baked by volunteers, ready for delivery.

 And here we are learning about OBK

Our meal this week was inspired by Lynda Ben-Menashe, with a selection of old family Shabbat recipes from a time when Lynda was living in Israel. The sabbath starts on Friday night, and until the sun sets on Saturday, the Jewish people rest. So the Jewish kitchen is very busy all day Friday, preparing meals for our Sabbath.

 The first recipe we made was a deliciously soft and moist chocolate cake. Above, we can see the women working together in creating this spectacular dessert.

What is so special about our Interfaith Cooking days, is not only the new and exotic recipes we cook each week, it is the conversations we share together.

 The women made a pea dish and a grated carrot salad with mayonnaise and raisins which was a refreshing accompaniment to the chicken and rice.

We enjoyed a chicken dish baked in spices, date syrup and slowly cooked in its juices. We made a Middle Eastern rice dish, where the onions were cooked in oil and margarine first, then the rice, parsley and stock were added. When the stock was boiling, we reduced the temperature until the rice had absorbed the stock. This is a great dish that stays warm on the stove for hours with the lid on and the gas off.

Lynda had a smile from ear to ear, so excited to be sharing her family recipes with us all. And as you can see below, we too, enjoyed the meal.

 

As part of the dessert, Elaine poached pears in a wonderful cinnamon, cardamon syrup, which worked so well with the chocolate pudding / cake.

And below we have the youngest member of the OBK team, resting after a busy morning in the kitchen.

Until next week in the interfaith kitchens ..... Ciao, Mel