Blinis with Smoked Salmon and Caviar
Servings: 4
Level of difficulty: Intermediate
Preparation Time: 30 minutes, plus 10 minutes resting time
Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients
250g smoked salmonfinely sliced
250g creme fraiche
25g caviar
1 bunch of fresh chives, finely chopped
salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tbsp olive oil
1 whole lemonsliced into wedges
freshly ground pepper, to serve
For
blinis:
300ml milk
1 bay leaf
1 tsp dried yeast
50g plain flour sifted
a pinch of sugar
4 egg whites
2 tbsp sunflower oil
You will need:
Cook's knife, chopping board, sieve, saucepan, large mixing bowl, whisk
or rotary egg beater, metal spoon, heavy non-stick frying pan, teaspoon
Method:
1. First make the blinis. Gently heat the milk with the bay leaf in a
saucepan. Add the dried yeast to a large mixing bowl. Add the sifted flour
to the yeast.
2. Slowly whisk the warm milk into the yeast mixture,
discarding the bay leaf, making a smooth thick batter. Mix in the sugar.
3. Whisk the egg whites until soft peaks form. Using
a metal spoon, gently fold the beaten egg white into the dough. Leave
the batter to rest for at least 10 minutes.
4. Heat a heavy non-stick frying pan. Lightly coat
with oil. Drop tablespoons of the blini batter into the pan, spacing well
apart. Cook until bubbles appear on the surface of the blinis. Turn the
blinis over gently using a palette knife or spatula and cook on the other
side for a further 2 minutes.
5. Transfer the cooked blinis to a large flat serving
plate. Repeat the process until all the batter has been used to make blinis.
6. Bring the smoked salmon to room temperature, which
brings out its flavour. Cut the smoked salmon into squares roughly the
size of the blinis. Mix together the crème fraiche, chopped chives,
olive oil and a pinch of salt.
7. Using a teaspoon place a small dollop of crème
fraiche onto each blini. Top with a piece of smoked salmon and follow
with another dollop of crème fraiche.
8. When all the blinis have been topped in this way
use the handle of a teaspoon to add a small amount of caviar to the top
of each blini.
9. Serve the blinis with lemon wedges and black
pepper.
|