Estonian Buckwheat Blinis

The Baltic Blitz continues…

Blinis are a holiday treat in many traditions hailing from Eastern Europe and Russia.  In older times they were considered a symbol of the sun because of their round shape and were served at the end of winter to celebrate the coming of the new sun.  That ritual was eventually adopted by the Christians and is now known as ‘pancake week’ or ‘pancake day’ and blinis or pancakes are served on Shrove Tuesday (Mardi Gras) before Ash Wednesday.

The miniature ones in this photo are cooling and waiting patiently to be frozen for later use at the big Estonian Dinner that happened in September.  As you can see my little suns are not exactly round…perhaps major sun flare activity was happening on that day.

This is a cast iron blini pan lent to me by my friend Dennis to prepare the little appetizer-holders.  Adorable AND cast iron.  Some blini recipes don’t use yeast and are thin like crepes or blintzes, and some recipes have you separate the eggs and whip the whites to create an airier blini.  These are the latter, plus yeast.  They are thicker and barely spread out (which is why it’s harder to achieve roundness), but this pan would be especially handy for holding in the shape of thinner, non-yeasted crepe-like blinis and creating that perfectly sun-like orb.

These little buddies freeze well and can be served with various flavor packed toppings.

Some possible Holiday blini pairings:

• Cream Cheese with Salmon Gravlax
• Creme Fraiche and Caviar
• Horseradish and Roast Beef
• Mushroom Tapenade ‘Caviar’
• Chutney and Aged Cheese or Turkey
• Roll up with cheese and fry again

Õnnelik hanuka

& 

Rõõmsaid jõule ja head uut aastat!

Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! 

Buckwheat Blinis

Prep Time: 15 minutes plus 1 hour to let the batter sit

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Separate

2 eggs

Warm together:

1 1/4 cup warm Milk

1 Tablespoon Sugar

1 teaspoon Salt

Stir in:

2 Egg yolks

1 Tablespoon yeast (10 g)

Mix in a bowl with:

1 1/4 cup Buckwheat Flour

Let sit for an hour in a warm place.

Stir in:

1 Tablespoon Sour Cream

1 teaspoon Dill

Whisk the Egg Whites to a soft peak and fold in. 

Fry in Butter any size you wish.  

The Estonian Flag

Blue for Sky, Sea and Lakes

Black for the Soil

White for the Birch, Snow, and Midnight Summer Sun

“I will love the light for it shows me the way. 

Yet I will endure the darkness for it shows me the stars.” 

– Og Mandino