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Jun 29, 2023

These keto dairy

Ah, the blintz — the dairy or fruit-filled staple of Ashkenazi cooking brought

Ah, the blintz — the dairy or fruit-filled staple of Ashkenazi cooking brought to America during the wave of immigration from Eastern Europe. For many people it's a favorite, conjuring up home cooking and the sweet scent of vanilla and cinnamon.

With its roots in Hungarian and Romanian crepes (or palacsinta), blintzes are not dissimilar to French crepes, but have their own particular texture and savor.

Cheese blintzes are associated with Shavuot (May 25-27 this year), although a good blintz can be enjoyed anytime, whether topped with syrup, fried in butter or baked into a casserole. But what if you’re following a low-carb keto diet? Or just need to eliminate grains or dairy?

I’ve got you covered with a recipe that has all the goodness of classic blintzes while being friendly to both keto and dairy-free diets. My grain-free blintzes are not your bubbe's blintzes!

The grain-free blintzes in this recipe use a combination of almond flour and cassava flour. Made from a starchy root, cassava flour can replace wheat flour in many recipes.

This recipe is sweetened with monk fruit, a sugar-free sweetener, which is typically found blended with erythritol and can be used as a 1:1 replacement for standard granulated sugar. Unlike stevia, monk fruit is very neutral tasting, so give it a try! You can also substitute maple syrup, or even just use sugar.

I like to top these with fresh berries, but I’ve been known to whip up a fruit sauce and drizzle that on top with whipped cream.

Batter:

Filling:

In a large bowl, combine eggs, almond milk, almond flour, cassava flour and vanilla until smooth. Let sit for 10 minutes.

Warm an 8- to 10-inch nonstick pan over medium-low heat. Brush with coconut oil or butter. Pour ¼ cup batter into the pan, and swirl to coat the surface evenly.

Cook the crepe until dry on the top, about 2 to 3 minutes. Flip, and cook for an additional 1 to 2 minutes. Set aside.

Repeat with all the batter.

Meanwhile, combine ricotta cheese, egg yolk, monk fruit, vanilla extract, almond extract and lemon zest.

Place approximately 2 Tbs. filling in the bottom third of each crepe. Roll the bottom half to cover the filling. Fold the side towards the center of the crepe, and continue to roll.

Heat additional butter or coconut oil in the pan over medium heat. Add the rolled blintzes, cooking 2 to 3 minutes on both sides, or until golden.

Note: I used Otto's Naturals cassava flour and Kite Hill Ricotta Alternative, made with almond milk.

Micah Siva is a registered dietitian and trained chef in San Francisco. She develops modern Jewish recipes inspired by her grandmother, with a plant-forward twist. See her recipes and photography at Nosh with Micah.

Tags: keto, dairy-free, low-carb, grain-free