It’s Pancake Day next Tuesday and the perfect excuse to whip up a quick batter. In past years we’ve enjoyed crepes stuffed and baked, American-style buttermilk pancakes smothered in maple syrup and Chinese pancakes crammed with crispy duck. But this time I want to revisit the small but perfectly formed buckwheat blini.
The most memorable blinis I ever ate were in Moscow, after a grim working visit as a journalist to Chechnya, reporting on a conflict that left thousands dead and the Chechen capital, Grosny, in ruins.
The Chechen capital, Grosny, after Russian bombing
Chechen fighters in Grosny, winter 1994/95
As reporters, we were the lucky ones because unlike the Chechens, we got to leave the war behind. But my sympathy for the civilian population didn’t stop me indulging in hot and cold running room service once I was safely back in Moscow.
We’d been living in a refugee centre, eating army rations and with limited access to hot water, so I shut myself in my hotel room, ran the biggest, bubbliest bath I could and scrubbed and soaked myself until I looked like a pink prune. Then I ordered blinis and caviar and cracked open a split of champagne. It was bliss.
I’ve tried several blini recipes over the years but I really like this one from Richard Bertinet. It’s in his book Crust, published by Kyle Books. His buckwheat blinis take a while to make but they’re worth the wait. You can always take a foamy, relaxing bath while the mixture rises and produces its own bubbles, because unlike most pancakes, blinis contain yeast.
Use a cut potato to grease the pan
Richard Bertinet uses fresh yeast; as I didn’t have any I’ve taken the liberty of adapting his recipe to use fast action yeast.
Richard has a great tip, too, based on his Breton grandma’s technique: to oil the pan before cooking, dip a cut potato into cooking oil and, holding it with a fork, rub it over the surface of the pan. He says, and he’s right, it gives you just the right thin film of oil.
Buckwheat Blinis
Ingredients:
75g buckwheat flour
75g strong white (bread) flour
5g salt
150g (weight) milk
3.5g fast action yeast
2 large eggs
80g crème fraîche
Vegetable oil (and half a potato) for greasing
Method:
Combine the flours, salt and fast action yeast in a mixing bowl.
Pour the milk into a pan and heat until it’s just at boiling point. Remove from the heat.
Separate the eggs, preferably using the bogeyman egg separator you’ve just been given for your birthday.
Add the eggs yolks to the slightly cooled milk in the pan, along with the crème fraîche. Pour this mixture slowly into the flour, stirring well, until you have a thick batter. Cover the bowl with a clean tea towel and leave to rest for an hour and a half until the batter has risen and looks bubbly and spongy.
Whisk the eggs whites to soft peaks and fold gently into the batter. Cover the bowl again and leave to rest for a further two hours.
To cook, oil a frying pan (or several small blini pans if you have them) and heat on the stove. Pour in small round puddles of batter and when they start to bubble (about 30 seconds for small blinis, one minute for bigger ones), turn them over and cook for the same amount of time until light golden brown on the other side.
Remove from the pan and either cool on a wire rack or eat warm with crème fraîche and a dollop of caviar or smoked salmon and a sprig of fresh dill.
You can also add finely chopped (boiled) egg white and sieved egg yolks to the topping, which is how mine were served in Moscow. Vegetarian alternatives might include beetroot with horseradish cream, whipped goat’s cheese with finely diced cornichons – the possibilities are endless.
In the unlikely event you have any leftover, these buckwheat blinis freeze well, cooked and wrapped in greaseproof paper.
Great post Linda. I love hearing about your experiences as a Journalist. Using the cut potato to grease the pan is a brilliant tip – thanks!
Thank you, Eva, much appreciated. The thanks for the cut potato tip should of course go to Richard’s grandma! All the best, Linda.
I love the potato tip too. I shan’t be allowed to try anything but trad. British pancakes on Shrove Tuesday (grandchildren are SO traditional), but those blinis are definitely on the list for another time.
It’s a really neat tip, isn’t it? And Richard was very generous in sharing his recipe. I love trad pancakes with lemon juice and sugar, the way my mum used to do them, but these blinis are well worth a go when you have time. Lx
…and a great Valentine’s Day snack. Ken
Mmmm! True love. 🙂
oh… and great tip from Richard Bertinet. I have two of his books. I’ve never tried his blinis, but I immediately became a convert to his method of kneading dough, the whap-and-slap technique. Most of the time when I make bread these days I’m simply folding it, but once in awhile you need a good session with some dough to restore life to its natural balance. Ken
I haven’t tried his kneading technique, must look it up, thanks for the tip. Love his books.
Interesting post and the blinis look lovely. Then I saw the bogeyman separator and it has quite put me off my fishfinger supper! (I want one though, the kids would love it!)
Do you know, you’re the first person on any social media forum to comment on the bogeyman! It’s actually very efficient. And it makes me laugh.
I didn’t realise what it was for when I saw it on FB. It’s genius!
These sound great! I’ll most likely be having pancakes with lemon juice and sugar as always. Love the egg separator…that really made me laugh this morning lol
Thanks, Karen. It makes me laugh every time I look at it. Best present this year!
I, too, am in love with the egg separator! A couple of years after my husband died, `i decided to give myself a special Christmas present, which was a day’s bread making course at Richard’s school in Bath. A big mistake!. He teaches you to bake every day, which is very dangerous for the hips! Anyway, Richard said that the best thing is to rehearse any and all recipes, so don’t wait for an important party to attempt to make 100 blini, just take a wet afternoon, ensure you have all the ingredients and go ahead. They are delicious. And by the way, if you know of anyone you love who wants to learn to bake, the Bertinet School is just fantastic.
Lucky you! I’m a huge fan of Richard’s, I’d love to attend his school, but have to make do with his books. The blinis are indeed delicious.