Blini with caviar and smetana
Small fluffy pancakes made from a buckwheat and wheat leavened batter, golden in butter, topped with a spoonful of sour cream and a dab of caviar or salmon roe.
Small fluffy pancakes made from a buckwheat and wheat leavened batter, golden in butter, topped with a spoonful of sour cream and a dab of caviar or salmon roe.
Ah, Maslenitsa week! The whole house smelled of melted butter. We prepared the batter the night before with the starter, and you had to see it bubble and sigh in its bowl by the stove. My sisters and I would wait for the first batch — those little golden buckwheat moons we topped with a spoonful of fresh smetana and a bit of grey caviar. We'd fold them with our fingertips, still burning hot. Believe me, no equation gives as much joy as a successful blini.
- •Buckwheat and wheat flour — equal parts (batter base)
- •Sourdough starter or brewer's yeast — a little (fermentation)
- •Warm milk — as needed (liquid)
- •Eggs — a few (binding)
- •Clarified butter — generously (cooking)
- •Smetana (sour cream) — as desired (topping)
- •Caviar or fish roe — according to means (festive topping)
Blini with caviar and smetana
Small fluffy pancakes made from a buckwheat and wheat leavened batter, golden in butter, topped with a spoonful of sour cream and a dab of caviar or salmon roe.
Why this dish? Blini, thin leavened buckwheat pancakes, are the king dish of Maslenitsa (Butter Week) and grand Russian receptions. In Sofia's educated and wealthy milieu, serving them topped with smetana and crowned with fish roe was the ultimate social ritual.
Ah, Maslenitsa week! The whole house smelled of melted butter. We prepared the batter the night before with the starter, and you had to see it bubble and sigh in its bowl by the stove. My sisters and I would wait for the first batch — those little golden buckwheat moons we topped with a spoonful of fresh smetana and a bit of grey caviar. We'd fold them with our fingertips, still burning hot. Believe me, no equation gives as much joy as a successful blini.
Ingredients (period version)
- Buckwheat and wheat flour — equal parts (batter base)
- Sourdough starter or brewer's yeast — a little (fermentation)
- Warm milk — as needed (liquid)
- Eggs — a few (binding)
- Clarified butter — generously (cooking)
- Smetana (sour cream) — as desired (topping)
- Caviar or fish roe — according to means (festive topping)
Ingredients
- Buckwheat flour — 120 g (batter base)
- Wheat flour — 120 g (structure)
- Active dry yeast — 7 g (fermentation)
- Warm milk — 400 ml (liquid)
- Eggs — 2 (yolks + whipped whites) (binding and fluffiness)
- Butter — 40 g + for the pan (cooking)
- Crème fraîche — 150 g (topping)
- Salmon or trout roe — 1 jar (festive topping)
Method
- Dissolve the yeast in warm milk, add flours and egg yolks, cover, and let rise for 1.5 hours until bubbly.
- Gently fold in the stiffly beaten egg whites and melted butter.
- Cook small ladlefuls of batter in a buttered hot pan, 1-2 minutes per side, until golden.
- Serve warm, topped with a dollop of sour cream and a dab of fish roe.
How it was made : Authentic Russian blini are made with a leavened batter (not quick pancake batter), traditionally with buckwheat. A pagan solar symbol, they celebrated the end of winter during Maslenitsa.
The contemporary twist : A 'mathematician's' version: arrange the blini in a perfect spiral with the cream in a quenelle, a nod to the figures Sofia drew on the blackboard.
Sofia Kovalevskaya · Charactorium