I’m going to be honest folks. It feels a bit challenging to write about summer and my garden and produce when the world is falling apart. But here we are. I know, pea blintzes can feel trivial – they do to me too. I can’t spend 100% of my waking hours reading articles and calling representatives and being depressed about the state of the world, so I am doing my best to act like everything is normal and it’s all going to be fine. Despite the fact that at the moment it’s looking pretty bleak.
Now that we’ve got that depressing shit out of the way, I guess let’s talk about my garden. That sounds fun doesn’t it?
I feel like I’m in produce overdrive! Between our expanded beds and the CSA we have this year I’m having trouble keeping up with the lettuces, greens, peas, and radishes. I’ve been eating salads for every meal and adding sautéed collards or bok choy to everything I make. When shelling peas started coming in from my garden, these blintzes popped into my mind and I wasn’t able to get them out. I don’t recall eating that many blintzes as a child, but I know it happened, and that they were a treat filled with sweet cheese and topped with fruit. But every since eating blintzes stuffed with mushrooms at Malka’s chanukah pop up, I feel like the world of savory blintzes is a whole new world.
My little garden didn’t produce enough shelling peas for a full batch, so I supplemented with some frozen ones, steamed them with some lemon juice, layered them on top a creamy spiced cheese filling, and wrapped it all up in pillowy crepe-like pancakes. The result was just this side of savory, delicate and lovely, a dish that could be eaten at brunch or for a light dinner.
1 cup flour 2 cups shelled peas, frozen or fresh In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, eggs, and milk. Set aside for 30 minutes. While it rests you can cook the peas and mix up the cheese filling as instructed below. Once the batter is ready, heat a little butter in an 8-inch nonstick pan over medium heat. Pour in 1/4 cup of batter and swirl it around as though you were making crepes. Let the pancake cook until it is golden brown on the bottom and the top is fully set (no raw batter here!). Remove from the pan and stack on a plate. Repeat with the remaining batter. In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, combine the peas with lemon juice and 1/4 cup water. Season with salt and pepper, and cook over medium-low heat for 3-5 minutes until the peas are tender. Strain and set aside to cool. In a small bowl combine the three cheeses, lemon zest, mint, aleppo, a few good grinds of pepper, and a three-fingered pinch of salt. Stir thoroughly so that all the cheese is nice and seasoned. Set a pancake on a cutting board or plate browned side up, spread roughly two tablespoons of cheese mixture into a small rectangle on the bottom half of the pancake. Scoop roughly three tablespoons of peas onto the cheese, pressing them in so they don’t roll away. Fold in the ends of the pancake, fold the bottom up, and fold the filling up, rolling into a tidy package. Heat your 8-inch pan over low heat and melt a small pat of butter. Gently cook the stuff blintzes in batches until browned and lightly crisped, ~1 minute per side. You can keep the cooked blintzes warm in an oven on low heat while you cook the rest.Spring Pea Blintzes
Ingredients
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/4 cups whole milk
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 cup fromage blanc
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1/4 cup finely grated parmesan
Zest from 1 lemon
1/4 cup loosely packed mint leaves, thinly sliced
3/4 tsp aleppo pepper flakes
salt + pepperInstructions