Blinis with créme fraiche and smoked salmon

Preparation time (not including waiting periods):

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Ingredients for 12 blinis:

For the yeast dough:

  • 80 g plain wheat flour for baking
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 125 ml milk
  • 1/2 block of fresh yeast
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 1 egg yolk (M)
  • 1 tbsp soft butter or margarine
  • 100 g liquid sour cream
  • 1 egg white (M)
  • clarified butter for frying

Topping:

  • 2 sheets of white gelatine or 3 g powdered gelatine (please follow manufacturer’s instructions)
  • 250 g crème fraîche
  • 50 ml buttermilk
  • 150 g smoked salmon, cut into thin slices
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 60 g buckwheat flour

Preparation:

  1. Mix both types of flour and salt. Heat milk until lukewarm. Dissolve yeast and sugar in the milk. Make a well in the centre of the flour and fill with yeast and milk mixture. Stir in some flour to make a thin mash. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 15 minutes.
  2. Add egg yolk, soft butter and sour cream and mix with the dough hooks of a hand mixer to make a smooth batter. Let rise for 30 minutes.
  3. Soak gelatine in cold water.
  4. Mix crème fraîche with buttermilk until smooth. Drain gelatine, dissolve according to package instructions, combine and chill mixture until the gelatine begins to solidify.
  5. Beat egg white until stiff and fold under the batter. Heat some clarified butter in a coated pan. To make each pancake, drop one tablespoon of batter into the hot fat and flatten to make a small round biscuit. Fry on both sides until golden brown. Remove from pan and keep warm.
  6. Place a dollop of the buttermilk-crème fraîche mixture on each blini, season to taste with coarsely ground pepper and add salmon slices.

Garnish blinis as desired, for example with basil or rucola leaves, dill branches, red pepper berries, orange zest or green olives and serve immediately.

Click here for more information on cooking and baking with gelatine.

Nutritional values per person approx.:

  • Calories: 170
  • Joules: 711
  • Protein: 5.8 g
  • Fat: 11.4 g
  • Carbohydrate: 10.7 g

Russian delicacy

For anyone who has the urge to impress friends and family with their cooking skills, this recipe is definitely a must try. Simply because it can easily and quickly be prepared - and that without having to camp out in the kitchen. And the best part of all: our blinis are not only a scrumptious titbit for the taste buds, but also a real treat for the eyes. Crème fraiche and smoked salmon add that certain something to this appetiser, which is a great starter for any meal.

 

Blinis are a traditional Russian dish made of dough. They are cheap and easy to make and very similar to our pancakes. The recipe for blinis was developed in the rural areas of Russia, where they were traditionally eaten with butter. Today, blinis have long since left the Russian border behind and have established themselves in our part of the world as veritable all-rounders. They are prepared and served equally as starters, entrées or party food. 

 

A veritable all-rounder

From fancy to classy, salty to sweet. The possibilities are many and varied. Made with buckwheat flour, they are eaten warm as thin pancakes, in part rolled up and stuffed with a wide range of fillings and spreads. They are often served as a starter with sour cream or smoked salmon. However, they are also delicious as a side dish for meat or poultry entrées. Blinis also make a wonderful dessert. For this, leave out the salt and serve with such toppings as quark, jam or sugared evaporated milk.

 

Lots of success in giving them a try!