Amy Cotler: Tortilla Blintzes with Summer Fruit

This post first appeared at The Locavore Way, author Amy Cotler's blog.

These crisp tortillas filled with seasonal fruit and ricotta, topped with berry sauce make a romantic brunch or surprising dessert wrap. I used local peaches and blueberries here, but feel free to fool with fruit any local combination. (If you can find local ricotta let me know where please!)

l cup blueberries (l/2 pint)
3-1/2 tablespoons sugar
l-1/2 teaspoon grated ginger
l cup whole milk ricotta cheese, room temperature
l teaspoon vanilla extract
2 small ripe nectarines or peeled peaches*, sliced
2 small taco size flour tortillas
l teaspoon unsweetened butter
2 tablespoons sliced almonds, optional

1. Combine the blueberries, 2 tablespoons sugar and l/2 teaspoon ginger in a small sauce pan with 2 tablespoons water. Heat, over medium high heat, stirring frequently, just until some of the berries burst and a sauce forms. Add up to 2 tablespoons extra water, if necessary. Reserve.

2. Mix the ricotta, vanilla, l sliced nectarine or pealed peach, l-1/2 tablespoons sugar, and l teaspoon grated ginger.

3. Place 1/2 the filling in the center of each tortilla. Carefully fold in the sides and roll, tucking in the ends carefully. (If you prefer, you may heat the tortillas to make them more pliable, but if you are careful, it isn’t essential.)

4. Heat the butter over medium heat in a large non-stick skillet. Carefully add the blintzes and cook, until well browned on both sides and warm all the way through, about 2-4 minutes on each side. Add the nuts during the last minute of cooking, stirring frequently to prevent burning. Place a blintz in the center of each plate. Spoon the blueberry sauce over. Sprinkle with the remaining nectarine slices and the toasted nuts, if you are using them. Serve immediately.

A longtime advocate of local eating, Amy Cotler is the author of The Locavore Way and founding director of Berkshire Grown, a food initiative that received international recognition as a model for local food advocacy. She now consults, teaches, and lectures on food and farm-to-table issues. She worked as the Web food forum host for The New York Times, and her food articles have been published in numerous periodicals, including Fine Cooking, Kitchen Garden, Cook’s, Family Fun, Self, Gastronomique, and Orion. Her five cookbooks include The Secret Garden Cookbook, My Little House Cookbook, and Fresh From the Farm: The Massachusetts Farm to School Cookbook, which is available free online. Amy has developed close to 1,000 recipes, including many for the revision of The Joy of Cooking. She’s taught at the Institute for Culinary Education and the Culinary Institute of America, where she also researched and wrote teaching text for their professional cookbook. She lives in Western Massachusetts. Reach her at www.freshcotler.com.