Cheats Salmon Blinis
The simplest light and fluffy blinis topped with smoked salmon, chive flecked crème fraîche and red onion pickle. A quick, easy and chic nibble fit for any occasion.
You can switch up the salmon for a sliver of steak, or top these lovely blinis with peas smashed with creme fraiche and a hit of lemon. Serves 4-6 (making between 12-20 blinis, depending on how big you make them).
These cheats blinis are so delicious served with a sliver of smoked salmon, some shop-bought red onion pickle, and a little chive flecked crème fraîche. While they might look oh so fancy they need only 12 ingredients and come together in 30 minutes.
If you try this recipe, let us know how it goes! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag your photo #theculinarycartel on Instagram so we can see what you come up with. Happy cooking!
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this gluten free?
This recipe uses buckwheat flour and cake flour, so is not gluten free (GF)
Any cooking tips for the blinis?
Pour your batter into a squeezy condiment bottle with a screw on nozzle . This will help you squeeze out perfectly round blobs of batter. I love using these bottles for making blinis and pancakes. Condiment bottles can be bought on amazon, or simply clean an old tomato sauce or mayonnaise squeezy bottle.
Can I make these vegetarian ?
Have a few unexpected vegetarians but don’t want to make another canapé? Swap the smoked salmon for mushrooms sautéed with in little garlic. Mushrooms will pair wonderfully with the horseradish cream and pickles.
Cheats Salmon Blinis
- Total Time: 30-40 minutes
- Yield: 12-20
Description
If you want to make the batter ahead of time and cook the blinis right before serving, simply omit the baking powder, and mix this in right before you cook them. You can also fry up the blinis on Christmas morning, and reheat them in a low oven or microwave until warm.
Ingredients
Cheats Blinis
- 1/3 cup cake flour
- 1/3 cup buckwheat flour (or sub for more cake flour)
- 1 Tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 large egg
- 3/4 cups buttermilk
- 1 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- 1 Tbsp chopped chives
- vegetable oil (for frying pan)
Topping
- 100g smoked salmon, smoked trout
- 1/2 cup creme fraiche
- 1 Tbsp chives
- herbs for garnishing (optional), thinly sliced chives like fennel, micro herbs, or baby leaves
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Make the cheats blinis by adding the dry ingredients to a bowl. Make a well in the centre then add the egg, buttermilk, and melted butter, and stir the batter until just combined. Mix in the chives.
- Before cooking prepare your remaining ingredients. Cut your salmon into thin ribbons about 6cm long, and wrap these around your finger to form small salmon roses.
- Mix the creme fraiche and chives together, and season to taste with salt and pepper. This mixture can be spooned onto the blinis, or popped into a piping bag, fitted with a round nozzle, and piped onto the blinis.
- Heat a non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat.
- Add just enough oil to the pan to thinly coat the base. Add the batter to the pan a little at a time, to form 5cm mini pancake disks.
- Once they start to bubble slightly on the surface, and are golden brown underneath, flip them over and cook them on the other side. Continue cooking until all the batter has been used up.
- Once the blinis are cooked, place the salmon roses on them, add some of your creme fraiche mix, a little red onion pickle and garnish with fresh herbs. Serve immediately, with a nice glass of bubbly.
Notes
Chefs Tip: For ease when cooking the blinis, pour your batter into a jug or squeezy condiment bottle.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Method: Fry
- Cuisine: Russian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1
- Calories: 108.93kcal
- Sugar: 2.27g
- Sodium: 381.02mg
- Fat: 7.16g
- Saturated Fat: 3.59g
- Unsaturated Fat: 2g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 7.41g
- Fiber: 0.45g
- Protein: 3.66g
- Cholesterol: 34.89mg
