Greg and Joan from Reno requested this lush Cheese Blintz recipe from Jeffrey Madura at Jeffrey’s Hillside Cafe in Santa Rosa. With a dollop of meyer lemon curd, they’re light and divine. What Wine Country recipes would you kill for? Tell me!
This — like most chefs’ recipes — isn’t the simplest, but a little time investment will reap massive rewards. Save a little time by purchasing pre-made crepes at the store. You can purchase pre-made Meyer Lemon curd at high end grocers and specialty stores.
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Cheese Blintzes with Meyer Lemon Curd
from Chef Jeffrey Madura, Jeffrey’s Hillside Cafe, Santa Rosa
24 crepes (Recipe follows) or use store-bought crepes
2 Cups Mixed Berry Sauce (Recipe follows)
2 Cups Bellweather Farms Fromage Blanc
1 Cup Gina Marie Natural Cream Cheese, softened
2 Oranges Minced zest and juice
¼ Cup Granulated sugar
¼ tsp Vanilla extract
¼ tsp Kosher Salt
1 ½ Cups Meyer Lemon Curd (see recipe)
4 Tbls Butter, melted
4 Tbls Powdered Sugar
1 pint Fresh Blueberries
1 pint Fresh Blackberries
1 pint Fresh Strawberries, cut in quarters
Prepare the crepes, or use store-bought crepes
Prepare the berry sauce and the lemon curd and set aside. Place in squeeze bottles, if you have them.
Allow the crepes to come to room temperature while you prepare the filling.
To prepare the filling: combine the cheeses, granulated sugar, orange zest and juice. Beat with wooden spoon until well combined. Add the vanilla and salt and stir until smooth.
Assembly of blintzes: spoon 2 tablespoons of the filling into the center of each crepe. Fold the bottom of the crepe over the filling and then fold each of the remaining sides over to create a small square package. Repeat until you have filled each crepe.
Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Arrange 8 blintzes at a time (seam side down) and sauté until slightly browned and crisp (about 1 to 2 minutes). Turn the blintzes and brown the other side for 1 minute. Repeat this step with the remaining blintzes, adding 1 ½ tablespoons of butter for each batch.
When all blintzes have been cooked, arrange them onto serving plates (3 or 4 to each plate). Place two large dollops of lemon curd between the blintzes and spoon the berry sauce
Berry Sauce
(makes 2 cups)
1 Cup Frozen Raspberries
1 Cup Frozen Blueberries
1 Cup Frozen Blackberries
¾ Cup Sugar, or to taste, depending on sweetness of berries
1 Tbls Lemon Juice, freshly squeezed
¼ Cup Light Corn Syrup
Combine in a saucepan the raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, sugar, lemon juice and corn syrup. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer until all the sugar has dissolved and thickened (about 8 mintues). Puree the sauce in a blender and strain through a fine sieve and taste for sweetness and the consistency of the sauce.
The sauce can be served hot or cold (it will thicken once refrigerated). Sauce will keep for 10 days refrigerated or 3 months in the freezer
Meyer Lemon Curd
(makes 1 ½ cups)
3 large Egg Yolks
3 large Eggs
¾ Cup Granulated Sugar
½ Cup Meyer Lemon Juice (freshly squeezed)
1 Tbls Freshly grated Meyer Lemon Zest
3 Tbls Unsalted Butter
Whisk together the egg yolks, eggs and granulated sugar. Whisk in the lemon juice. Cook together in a double boiler, stirring constantly until thickened (about 5 to 10 minutes). Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the lemon zest and butter. Place the curd in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until cold (at least 30 minutes).
Crepes
(makes 24 crepes)
2 Cups All-purpose Flour
¼ Cup Sugar
½ tsp Kosher Salt
2 Cups Milk
2 large Eggs
1 Tbls Vanilla Extract (pure)
Melted butter, clarified butter or vegetable oil to coat pan, as needed
Sift together in a mixing bowl the flour, sugar and salt. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture.
In a separate bowl: blend the milk, eggs, butter and vanilla. Add the milk mixture to the flour mixture and stir by hand, just until the batter is smooth. Let the batter rest in the refrigerator at least 1 hour and up to 12 hours before preparing the crepes. Strain the batter if necessary to remove any lumps before preparing your crepes.
Heat a crepe pan or 9 inch non-stick omelette pan over medium-high heat. Brush the pan with melted butter. Pour about ¼ cup batter into the crepe pan, swirling and tilting the pan to coat the bottom of the pan with the batter. Cook until the first side is set and has a little color (about 1 to 2 minutes). Adjust the temperature under the pan if necessary. Use a heat-proof rubber spatula to lift the crepe and turn it over. Cook on the other side for about 30 seconds. Remove from pan and transfer to a sheet pan that is covered with either wax paper or parchment paper. Allow to cool. Repeat process until finished with batter.
