B UCKWH EAT BLINIS WITH SALMON
In Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women, the March sisters’ breakfast, the one they end up giving away, is a memorable spread. But it’s the buckwheat
that I fancy for my Christmas breakfast. The March girls didn’t have
salmon, but I see no reason for us to recreate
their breakfast too faithfully, especially if you have any gravlax left over.
Makes enough for eight
INGREDIENTS
For the blinis
60g buckwheat flour 60g strong white bread flour Pinch of salt Pinch of sugar
100ml milk
10g fresh yeast, or 3g fast-action yeast 75g sour cream
1 egg yolk
2 egg whites
30g butter
To serve Smoked salmon, or gravlax 100g sour cream
Dill sprigs Juice of 1 lemon
METHOD
Whisk together the flours, salt and sugar in a mixing bowl. Warm the milk to body temperature in a saucepan, then stir in the yeast until it dissolves. Whisk in the sour cream and the egg yolk. Pour the liquid ingredients into the flour
and whisk thoroughly. Cover the bowl with a tea
towel and put it in a draught-free place to rise for an hour (it might take a little longer than this on Christmas morning, so feel free to get your bird
prepped, or stuffing made). The batter should almost double in size. After an hour, beat the egg whites to stiff peaks, and then fold them into
the frothy mixture. Cover with the tea towel again and leave for another hour. The mixture should be very light and full of bubbles – almost like a foam. Once the batter has risen, warm half a tablespoon of the butter in a frying pan. Without stirring the mixture (you
want to retain the lightness), drop teaspoons of the batter into the pan. When the top of a blini is covered with bubbles, flip it over. Cook the blinis in batches until all the batter is used up, adding more butter when needed. Serve each blini warm, with a twist of salmon, a dollop of sour cream, a sprig of dill, and a squeeze of lemon. They can be warmed through in the oven, but are best fresh, if you can serve them
straight away.
Recipe from The Little Library Christmas
by Kate Young (Head of Zeus, £15)