Smoked salmon blinis with beetroot mayo
Ingredients
Makes 20
For the blinis:
- 15g fast action dried yeast
- 60ml warm water
- 2 tbsp milk
- 50g buckwheat flour
- 50g plain flour
- 2 eggs, separated
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp sugar
- 2 tbsp soured cream
- 175g butter, melted
For the beetroot mayo:
- 100ml mayonnaise
- 1 cooked beetroot, roughly chopped
- 1 tbsp fresh parsley, roughly chopped
To serve:
- 200g smoked salmon, cut or torn into ribbons
- 1 lime, zested
Cooking instructions
- To make the blinis, mix the yeast into the warm water until fully dissolved. Gently warm the milk in a small pan or in the microwave so that it is just warm to the touch.
- Mix together both types of flour in a large mixing bowl then add the warm milk, the yeast mixture, egg yolks, salt, sugar, soured cream and 2 tbsp of the melted butter. Beat thoroughly until everything comes together in a smooth, glossy batter.
- Cover the bowl and leave in a warm place to prove for about 30 minutes or until the mixture is frothy and almost doubled in volume.
- In a clean bowl, whisk the egg whites until holding stiff peaks. Stir the frothy batter once to knock out the air then gently fold in the whipped egg whites until smooth.
- To cook, brush the base of a nonstick frying pan with some of the remaining melted butter and place over a medium-high heat. Once hot, add 2 tbsp of the batter for each blini (you should be able to cook 3-4 blinis at once in a large pan) and cook for 2-3 minutes until bubbles appear on the top surface and the underneath is lightly golden.
- Brush the tops with a little more melted butter then flip each blini over and cook for a final 1-2 minutes until lightly golden on both sides. Remove to a warm plate while you finish cooking the rest of the blinis in batches. The blinis can be topped and served warm or cooled and kept in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days.
- To serve, add the mayonnaise, chopped beetroot and parsley to a food processor and blitz until smooth. Spoon a small dollop onto the centre of each blini then top with the ribbons of smoked salmon and freshly grated lime zest to garnish.
Tips: If you don't have time to make your own blinis, use a pack of good quality ready-made blinis instead.