I’d like to think this caprese blintz is the epitome of my background. A blend of cultures, colliding different upbringings and introducing new memories.
I grew up, like many Brooklyn Jewish girls next door, on blintzes and bagels, on latkes and matzah balls and so did everyone around me. It was the norm. Jewish delis filled with freshly made bialys were the signature of my past and new worldly flavors are the introduction to my future.
You can imagine how my worlds collided when I moved to Hawaii when I was fourteen. The only Jewish girl in my school, the only one that had some reminisce of a east coast accent, the only know what knew what a blintz was. But alas, everything happens for a reason. My eight years living in Hawaii taught me patience and love of the land and introduced me to my Italian husband of (soon to be) 10 years who fell in love with traveling just as much as I did.
Over the last 10 years, Joe and I have had a love affair with traveling and one of our favorite memories was experiencing a true caprese salad in Italy. The tomatoes were so sweet and mozzarella like no other. I have been addicted ever since and want to caprese-fy anything I can get my hands on! Blintzes seemed to be a natural fit for these flavors.
This one is certainly for the savory lovers and aint your mama’s blintz, that’s for sure! Filled with soft mozzarella and sundried tomatoes, you will certainly be transported to a café in Italy like I was! A blend of cultures for your next brunch? I like that idea.
For the blintz batter:
- 1 cup flour
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup milk
- 1 Tbsp butter, melted
- Pinch of salt
- Oil spray for greasing pan
For the filling:
- 8 oz soft mozzarella cheese, roughly chopped into ½ inch pieces
- ½ cup sundried tomatoes, roughly chopped
- 8 oz pesto of your choice to garnish blintzes
- additional basil for garnish (optional)
- For the Basil Walnut Pesto (you can also use jarred pesto)
- 2 cups basil
- ¾ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup walnuts
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese
- 1 garlic clove
- Salt and pepper, to taste
To make blintz batter, add all blintz ingredients to a food processor or blender and blend for a few seconds until smooth. Then pour batter in bowl and set aside.
Heat a small 8-9 inch non-stick skillet to medium-high heat and spray a bit of cooking spray to evenly coat pan. Use a large ladle to pour batter into skillet, making a thin, circular motion to evenly distribute the batter. Cook blintz on the first side for about 1-2 minutes until it can easily move around in the pan and doesn’t stick. Then carefully use a spatula to flip over and cook the second side for another minute.
When done, remove from pan and set aside on parchment paper lined baking sheet, making sure not to overlap the blintz because they can stick.
Once all the pancakes are done, fill each blintz with 1 oz of mozzarella and a bit of sundried tomatoes. Fold the blintz up like a burrito, tucking in the sides and then add it back to the greased skillet, lightly browning each side. Continue with the rest of the blintz and set aside on a plate.
When ready to serve top with pesto more sundried tomatoes and basil garnish.
To make your own basil walnut pesto: In a food processor, pulse the walnuts and 1 garlic clove until all are ground well. Add basil, Parmesan and olive oil and pulse together until well incorporated, but don't over mix.
Taste for seasoning. Add additional olive oil if needed.
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