mini blinis with smoked salmon or roe recipe

Using buckwheat flour mixed with plain sharpens the flavour of these blinis. Serve warm.

for about 80 blinis

• 225g plain flour
• 225g buckwheat flour, sifted
• 4 teaspoons dried yeast
• 2 tablespoons caster sugar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 650ml milk
• 110g butter
• 4 eggs, lightly beaten
• Sunflower oil, mixed with a little butter

for the topping

• 200ml crème fraîche
• 1kg roe, gravadlax, or any smoked fish
• Bunch of fresh dill

Combine the flours, yeast, sugar and salt in a large bowl. In a saucepan, heat the milk and butter to blood heat, making sure that the butter melts completely. Stir this mixture into the flours and mix well.

Stir in the beaten eggs and whisk until smooth. Cover the bowl and leave to rise in a warm place for 1-1½ hours, until light and bubbly.

Brush a heavy-based frying pan with oil and when warmed through, drop half a tablespoon of the mixture onto it. When small holes begin to appear in the surface, turn and lightly cook the other side. Keep warm.

If you have pre-prepared (or frozen) the blinis, warm them wrapped in a damp napkin, in a medium oven for 10 minutes.

To serve, top the blinis with the crème fraîche and roe, gravadlax or smoked fish and put a sprig of dill on each.

This recipe features on p.133 of Sarah Raven's Complete Christmas cookbook.