Spelt Blinis

WITH SMOKED MACKEREL AND PICKLED RED ONION Makes 45-50

INGREDIENTS For the Pickled Red Onion: ◆ 1 red onion ◆ 50ml cider vinegar ◆ 50g caster sugar ◆ ½tsp salt For the blinis: ◆ 100g stone-ground spelt flour ◆ 7g sachet of yeast ◆ Salt ◆ Pinch of sugar ◆ 1 medium egg, beaten ◆ 150ml milk, warmed ◆ 2 medium egg whites ◆ Sunflower oil ◆ Unsalted butter For the topping: ◆ 200ml sour cream ◆ 2tsp Dijon mustard ◆ Salt and freshly ground

black pepper ◆ 5 fillets smoked mackerel 1 First, make the pickled red onion. Put the vinegar, sugar and salt into a small saucepan. Bring up to the boil and simmer for a minute. Peel and cut a red onion into quarters and slice each quarter finely. Put into a non-metallic bowl and pour over the vinegar mixture. Leave to stand overnight. It will keep for about 2 weeks in the refrigerator.

2 Put the flour into a large bowl and add the dried yeast, a pinch of salt and sugar. Mix well. Add the eggs and milk and mix together. Cover the bowl with cling film and allow to rise to almost double in size in a warm place. 3 Beat egg whites with a pinch of salt until just firm and carefully fold into the mixture. Preheat a frying pan with a little oil and butter and pour 3cm blinis into the pan. Once they start to bubble and set on top, turn them over. Take out of the pan, put on a clean tea towel and cover with the tea towel.

4 To finish, mix the mustard into the sour cream and season with a little salt and pepper. Skin the mackerel and cut into small diagonal slices. Put a small spoonful of the sour cream mixture on each pancake and top with a piece of mackerel. Finish with a little red onion. Serve within 30min.