Beet Green, Rice and Ricotta Blinis

Name: Beet Green, Rice and Ricotta Blinis
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 24 about 2 1/2-inch cakes, serving 6 to 8
Cuisine: russian
Ingredients: 3/4 pound beet greens, or a mix of beet greens and other greens, such as chard or mustard greens, washed, stemmed and coarsely chopped (6 cups tightly packed); 1 cup (8 ounces) ricotta cheese; 2 eggs, beaten; 1/2 cup low-fat milk (2 percent); 5 tablespoons grated Parmesan; 1/2 cup whole-wheat pastry flour or white whole-wheat pastry flour; 1 teaspoon baking powder; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 1 cup cooked brown or white rice, preferably medium- or short-grain; 2 tablespoons finely chopped chives; 2 teaspoons finely chopped marjoram; Freshly ground pepper; Olive oil for the pan or griddle; Marinara sauce for serving (optional)

By Martha Rose Shulman

Total Time: 20 minutes
Rating: 4(19)
Notes: Read community notes

The idea for this comes from Deborah Madison’s Chard, Ricotta and Saffron Cakes, from her amazing and wonderful new book, “Vegetable Literacy,” which explores vegetables from 12 families of the vegetable kingdom. Ms. Madison is always inspiring, and I think this is her best book to date. These are chunkier than pancakes because of all the rice, but they are more cake than fritter. Let them rise on the griddle – don’t press them down – and allow them to cook for 3 minutes on each side. I like to serve them with a dollop of tomato sauce. You can make smaller cakes to serve as hors d’oeuvres or snacks.

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Ingredients

Yield:24 about 2½-inch cakes, serving 6 to 8

¾pound beet greens, or a mix of beet greens and other greens, such as chard or mustard greens, washed, stemmed and coarsely chopped (6 cups tightly packed)
1cup (8 ounces) ricotta cheese
2eggs, beaten
½cup low-fat milk (2 percent)
5tablespoons grated Parmesan
½cup whole-wheat pastry flour or white whole-wheat pastry flour
1teaspoon baking powder
½teaspoon salt
1cup cooked brown or white rice, preferably medium- or short-grain
2tablespoons finely chopped chives
2teaspoons finely chopped marjoram
Freshly ground pepper
Olive oil for the pan or griddle
Marinara sauce for serving (optional)

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

Step 1
Steam the greens above an inch of boiling water for 1 to 2 minutes, just until wilted. Remove from the heat, allow to cool and squeeze out excess water. Chop fine.
Step 2
In a large bowl, beat together the ricotta, eggs, milk and Parmesan. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt and whisk into the ricotta mixture. Stir in the greens, rice, herbs and pepper. The mixture will be thick.
Step 3
Heat a griddle or a heavy nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Brush with olive oil, enough to coat the bottom, and drop the batter in by the heaped tablespoon. Cook for about 3 minutes, until dark brown and nicely risen, and turn over. Cook for another 2 to 3 minutes, until brown on the other side. The pancakes will be moist in the middle, but there should not be a raw flour taste. Remove from the heat and serve, or cool on a rack and heat later in a medium-low oven. Serve with a dollop of tomato sauce.

Tip

Advance preparation: These keep well for a day in the refrigerator. Reheat in a low oven. They also freeze well.

Ratings

4 out of 5

19 user ratings

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Mallory3 years ago

Instead of steaming the greens I fried them in a bit of salted vegetable broth to add some flavour. I served the blinis with sour cream and smoked salmon and it was delicious.

Francesca6 years ago

These are a solid starting point but lack flavor, namely acid and salt (although marinara sauce does have these, the flavor doesn't make much sense as an add on to these fritters). I add in other miscellaneous herbs and have tried topping with harissa, capers, and tomatoes (separate from each other) all of which make some progress. They also definitely need pretty high heat for cooking to help the moisture from the ricotta boil off. Still my go-to for beet greens but looking for more flavor!

WiscoCooks6 years ago

I wonder how these would be made with buckwheat flour?

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