Buckwheat Blini And Smoked Seafood Salad

BLINI WITH SMOKED SALMON

Steps:

• Combine both flours, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the milk, egg, and 1 tablespoon of the clarified butter, then whisk into the flour mixture. Heat 1 tablespoon of the clarified butter in a medium saute pan and drop the batter into the hot skillet, 1 tablespoon at a time. Cook over medium-low heat until bubbles form on the top side of the blini, about 2 minutes. Flip and cook for 1 more minute, or until brown. Repeat with the remaining batter. (I clean the hot pan with a dry paper towel between batches.) Set aside.
• To serve, top the blini with a piece of smoked salmon. Add a dollop of creme fraiche and a sprig of dill.

BUCKWHEAT BLINI

Steps:

• Over medium-high heat, bring the milk and butter to just below a boil. Cool until lukewarm.
• Combine the buckwheat flour, sugar, and salt. Set aside.
• In a separate small bowl, combine the yeast and lukewarm water. Allow the yeast to activate for 5 minutes in a warm place (see Cook's Note*).
• In a large bowl, beat the egg yolk until light yellow. Drizzle the milk and butter mixture slowly into the yolk while whisking. Add the dry ingredients and stir to combine. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and put in a warm place until doubled in size.
• Whisk the egg white until soft peaks form. Fold the egg white into the batter. Cover the batter again and allow it to regain its original volume, about 10 to 15 minutes.
• Preheat a skillet and lightly brush it with the clarified butter. Spoon 1 tablespoon portions of the batter into the skillet (see Cook's Note**). Lightly brown on both sides.
• Spoon 1 teaspoon of the smoked salmon cream cheese mixture over a blini. Garnish with fresh dill and serve.
• In a medium bowl cream together the cream cheese, dill, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Gently fold in the smoked salmon.

BUCKWHEAT BLINI

Steps:

• Dissolve the yeast and sugar in the water in a large bowl. Stir in the lukewarm milk, and let stand for five minutes until creamy.
• Sift together the flours and salt into a medium bowl. Whisk into the yeast mixture. Whisk in the buttermilk or yogurt, the oil or melted butter, and the egg yolks. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap, and set aside to rise in a warm spot for one hour or longer until bubbly.
• Beat the egg whites to soft peaks. Fold them into the batter. Cover again, and allow to rise for another 30 minutes until bubbly.
• Lightly grease a heavy nonstick or cast iron griddle, and heat over medium heat until hot. For bite-size blini that you can pass as hors d'oeuvres, ladle on 1 to 2 tablespoons of batter for each silver-dollar-size blini. For larger, pancake-sized blini, ladle on about 1/4 scant cup per blini. Cook until holes break through the upper side, about a minute. Turn and brown on the other side for about 30 seconds. Remove to a rack or a plate. If serving right away, wrap them in a towel or place them in a low oven to keep warm. If not serving right away, wrap them in foil and reheat them for about 20 minutes in a 325-degree oven. To freeze, stack them between pieces of parchment or wax paper, and wrap them airtight in plastic, then foil. To thaw, remove them from the plastic, rewrap them in foil, and place them in a 350-degree oven for 30 minutes. Alternately, remove the foil and thaw them in a microwave oven.