Blini con Salmone Affumicato (Blini with Smoked Salmon)

The holiday season presents a number of opportunities to serve delicious and elegant food.

Blini and smoked salmon is a perfect example – an elegant, irresistible and delectable starter to serve on Christmas with a glass of Rosè sparkling wine. The blini’s delicate and nutty taste blends very well with sour cream and salty salmon. The preparation is simple but the result is extraordinary tasty and beautiful.

The term blini is the Russian word for pancakes but the recipes is slightly different from the American pancakes since it includes buckwheat and spelt flours that give the nutty flavor, as well as yeast leavened butter. The addition of whipped egg whites adds a light and fluffy texture to the pancakes. You can substitute sour cream with crème fraiche, but I personally prefer the slightly acidic taste of sour cream.

Wish you all my beloved readers a Merry Christmas, filled with Love, Peace and Health. This year will be a special one due to the Pandemic. In Italy we allowed to celebrate it only with close family.  So it will a small celebration but the most important thing about Christmas is that it invites us to reflect on the most important things in our life — health, love and family!

Have you ever thought that you can smoke salmon in your kitchen using everyday suppliers? Here is an interesting article how to smoke salmon  without a smoker.

BLINI CON SALMONE AFFUMICATO (BLINI WITH SMOKED SALMON)

Total prepation time: 1 hour     Total cooking time: 20-25 minutes        Yield: 30-35 blini

INGREDIENTS

160 ml (2/3 cup) lukewarm milk
12 g (0.4 oz) fresh yeast or 5 g (1 1/4 teaspoons) dry yeast
2 tablespoons sugar
110 g (¾ cup) whole grain spelt flour
65 g ( about 1/3 cup) buckwheat flour
2 heaping tablespoons all-purpose flour1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, separated
30 g (2 tablespoons) butter, melted and cooled, plus some melted butter for cooking
280 g (10 oz) source cream
280 g (10 oz) smoked salmon, cut into 2.5 cm (1 inch) slices
Fresh dill for decoration

DIRECTIONS

1. In a bowl stir together the milk, sugar and yeast (if you use fresh yeast, crumble it) and let it stand for 5 minutes (until foamy)
2. Mix all the flours and stir in the bowl, then add the egg yolks and salt. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rest in a warm place for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes the dough should have increased in volume and have bubbles breaking the surface. Add the butter
3. Whip the egg whites until stiff, then fold gently into the mixture with a spatula
4. Heat a non-stick skillet over high and brush with some melted butter. Turn the heat to low and place one tablespoon on the hot griddle for each blini. Allow sufficient space between the blini for turning. Cook, turning over once, until golden on both sides. Transfer to a cooling rack and keep the blini warm in the oven
5. When all the blini are prepared, arrange on a plate and top with sour cream, salmon and dill. – Paola