Potato Blini With Caviar Food

FOODCHANNEL EDITOR

Steps:

• 1 Boil the potatoes in their skins until soft. Cool and remove the skins. Mash the potatoes with a potato masher or puree through a ricer. (Do not puree in the food processor.) 2 Beat the flour, cornstarch, eggs, yolk and milk into potatoes with a wooden spoon. Season with salt, pepper and cayenne. The mixture should be highly seasoned. 3 Heat half the butter in a heavy skillet over a medium flame. Drop spoonfuls of batter into the pan to form 2 inch pancakes. Fry the pancakes until golden brown, about 30 seconds per side. Add butter as necessary and drain the pancakes on paper towels. 4 Place a small dollop of creme fraiche on top of each pancake and top with a spoonful of caviar.

EASY BLINI (RUSSIAN PANCAKE)

Steps:

• Combine flour, salt, and baking powder in a bowl.
• Whisk 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk, egg, and 1 tablespoon melted butter together in a separate bowl. Mix into the flour mixture until batter is fully combined.
• Heat 1 tablespoon butter in a skillet over medium-low heat. Drop batter, 1 tablespoon at a time, onto the heated skillet. Cook until bubbles form, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Flip and continue cooking until brown, about 1 minute more. Lay on plate lined with a paper towel to help soak up excess butter. Repeat with the remaining batter.

BLINI WITH MUSHROOM CAVIAR

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the shallot. Cook, stirring, until tender, three to five minutes. Add the mushrooms. Cook, stirring, until they begin to sweat, and add the garlic, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often over medium heat, for five minutes until the mushrooms are tender and fragrant. Add the tomatoes, and bring to a simmer. Cover, reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice, and taste and adjust the seasonings. There should be very little liquid in the pan. If there is, continue to simmer uncovered until most of the liquid has evaporated. Stir in the dill, and serve.

BUCKWHEAT BLINI WITH CAVIAR

Steps:

• In large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in 1 cup milk. Stir in 1/2 cup all-purpose flour and let stand until bubbly, about 10 minutes.
• Combine remaining all-purpose flour, the buckwheat flour and salt. Add 2 cups milk to the yeast mixture and gradually whisk in flour-salt mixture until you have a smooth, thick batter. Whisk in melted butter. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Leave at room temperature and let batter slowly double in size, about 2 to 3 hours. (The batter may remain at room temperature even longer if necessary.) You may also mix batter and refrigerate overnight. Bring to room temperature before proceeding with recipe.
• When you are ready to cook blini, stir down batter, which will have become quite frothy. Beat egg yolks and whisk into batter. In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until stiff. Gently fold egg whites into batter.
• Spoon batter onto a hot, lightly greased griddle, using a large soup spoon to make blini that are 3 inches in diameter. Cook for about 2 minutes, until bottom is well browned. Flip and cook 1 minute more. (Wait until surface is covered in bubbles before flipping.) Keep warm in a low oven. Serve with a dollop of crème fraîche, a drizzle of butter, a generous spoonful of caviar and a sprinkling of chives.

POTATO BLINIS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425°F. Prick potatoes all over with a fork and bake on a rimmed baking sheet until very tender and a knife slides easily through flesh, 60-70 minutes. Let cool slightly. Reduce oven temperature to 200°F.
• Meanwhile, whisk egg yolks, egg, and sour cream in a medium bowl to combine; set sour cream mixture aside.
• Cut potatoes in half lengthwise and scoop flesh from skins; discard skins. Pass flesh through food mill or ricer fitted with the small-hole disk into a large bowl. Working quickly, sprinkle flour, salt, pepper, baking soda, and nutmeg over potatoes; toss lightly with a fork to distribute ingredients, fluff potatoes, and break up any clumps. Make a well in the center and pour in reserved sour cream mixture. Whisk in a circular motion, working from the center out to incorporate, just until smooth (it should look like a thick pancake batter). Cover; let sit 10 minutes.
• Heat a large skillet, preferably nonstick or cast iron, over medium-low. Brush skillet with a thin layer of butter. Spoon scant tablespoonfuls of batter into skillet, spacing about 1" apart. Cook blinis until undersides are golden brown and surfaces look matte and bubbles form on top, about 90 seconds. Gently flip and cook until other sides are golden brown, about 1 minute. Transfer to a wire rack set inside a rimmed baking sheet and keep warm until ready to serve (up to 1 hour before). Repeat with remaining batter, wiping out skillet between batches and brushing with more butter.

SWEET POTATO BLINIS WITH CURED SALMON, CREME FRAICHE, AND CAVIAR

Steps:

• Place prepared sweet potatoes in a medium saucepan and cover with water. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil, and cook until the potatoes are tender and can be mashed easily with a fork. Drain well and return to the saucepan. Add the honey and 4 tablespoons of the butter and mash until smooth. If possible, puree this mixture in food mill. In a small bowl, combine the milk and eggs and stir in the sweet potato puree. In another bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, salt and cayenne. Add the dry ingredients to the sweet potatoes and stir until just blended.
• Melt the remaining butter and reserve. Heat non-stick skillets over medium-heat and coat with some of melted butter. Drop sweet potato mixture into skillets in 1 1/2-tablespoon amounts. Turn once, cooking until golden and crisp, about 1 minute per side. Transfer to a large baking sheet. Repeat the process with the remaining butter and batter. The pancakes can stand at room temperature for 2 hours. Reheat in a 325 degree F. oven for 5 minutes before serving.
• To serve, arrange 3 blinis on a plate and garnish each with a slice of cured salmon, a dollop of creme fraiche and a small spoonful of caviar.

POTATO BLINIS - LITHUANIAN.

Steps:

• Grate the potatoes on the star pattern of your grater, so it comes out looking like a sort of paste.
• Stir in the salt, then start making a well in the mix with a large spoon, removing as much water as possible.
• When you are fed up with this procedure, mix in the egg. At this stage you may want to add a spoonful of flour (plain) or cornflour, but try to resist as it alters the taste of the blini. A spoon of potato flour or starch would be better, but nothing at all is really necessary.
• Add oil and butter to a hot pan, put spoonsful of mixture - 1 spoon per blini - and cook until golden, turn and cook the other side until golden. Place on a platter, covered, in a warm oven to keep warm until the rest of the mixture is cooked.
• My mother-in-law has always served these with several side dishes of quartered tomatoes, sliced lengthwise cucumbers both fresh and pickled (Polski Ogorki), sour cream, caviar, as either an entree or a main, depending upon how many pounds of potatoes used and how keen you are.

BLINI CUPS WITH CAVIAR

Steps:

• To make blini cups: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a food processor fitted with the metal blade, or mixing bowl with electric mixer, process or mix cottage cheese, sugar, olive oil, whole egg and whites until blended. Add biscuit mix and pulse or mix until blended. Spray 1 1/2-inch miniature muffin cups with no-stick cooking spray. Pour batter into cups, filling 3/4 full. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until tops are golden. Remove from oven, go around edges with the tip of a sharp knife and remove from pans. (Blini may be refrigerated up to 2 days or frozen.).
• Before serving: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place blini cups on baking sheets and bake for 10 minutes or until hot. Top with a dollop of sour cream, caviar, and onion, if using. Makes about 36.

YUKON GOLD POTATO BLINI WITH EGGPLANT CAVIAR

Steps:

• Place potatoes in a medium saucepan and add enough cold water to cover by at least 2 inches. Bring to a boil over high heat; reduce heat to a simmer and simmer until potatoes are tender and easily pierced with the tip of a knife.
• Drain and peel warm potatoes; press through a very fine mesh sieve. Immediately weigh out 9 ounces pureed potatoes and transfer to a medium bowl. Working quickly, whisk in flour and 2 tablespoons creme fraiche. Add 1 egg, whisking until batter is smooth. Add second egg, whisking until batter is smooth. Finally add the yolk; whisk until batter is smooth and well combined.
• Hold the whisk with some of the batter over the bowl. The batter should fall in a thick stream but hold its shape when it hits the batter in the bowl. If it is too thick, add a little more creme fraiche. Season with salt and pepper.
• Heat an electric griddle to 350 degrees or a large nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Working in batches and wiping griddle with a paper towel between each batch, spoon 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons batter onto griddle or skillet for each pancake. Cook until bottoms are browned, 1 to 2 minutes. Turn and cook on second side until evenly browned with a small ring of white around the edges, about 1 minute. Transfer to a small baking sheet and keep warm. Serve immediately topped as desired.

BLINI WITH SOUR CREAM AND CAVIAR

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 250°F.
• Stir together warm water, yeast, and sugar in a bowl and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. (If mixture doesn't foam, discard and start over with new yeast.)
• Add all-purpose flour, buckwheat flour, and salt, then stir in milk, 3 tablespoons butter, and eggs. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and set in a roasting pan filled with 1 inch of warm water. Let rise in a warm place until dough is increased in volume, has bubbles breaking the surface, and is stringy when scooped, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Stir batter before using.
• Heat a 12-inch nonstick skillet over moderately high heat until hot and brush with some of remaining melted butter (if butter browns immediately, lower heat). Working in batches of 4, spoon 1 tablespoon batter into skillet for each blin, then cook, turning over once, until golden on both sides, about 2 minutes. Transfer to an ovenproof platter and keep blini warm in oven.
• Serve blini topped with sour cream and caviar.

EGGPLANT CAVIAR FOR POTATO BLINI

Steps:

• Halve eggplant lengthwise; score the flesh side of both halves, making a crisscross pattern about 1/4 inch deep. Sprinkle both halves with salt and place scored-side down on a rimmed baking sheet. Cover with a second baking sheet and place a heavy object (such as cans or a set of bowls) on top. Let eggplant render its excess liquid at room temperature for 1 to 2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil a baking sheet and set aside.
• Rinse eggplant, pat dry, and rub with some olive oil. Place halves flesh side down on prepared baking sheet. Transfer to oven and roast until eggplant is very soft and skin is wrinkled, about 1 hour. There should be no resistance when tested with a knife. Remove from oven and let stand until cool enough to handle.
• Scoop out eggplant pulp and lightly chop. Place pulp in a double layer of cheesecloth and tie to enclose with kitchen twine, leaving about 6 inches on the end. Hang bundle from a shelf in the refrigerator with a bowl set underneath or place in a colander set over a bowl and refrigerate; let drain at least 2 hours and up to overnight.
• Remove eggplant from refrigerator and hold cheesecloth bundle over sink; twist and squeeze to remove as much additional liquid as possible. Transfer pulp to the bowl of a small food processor; pulse a few times to break up eggplant. With the motor running, slowly add 2 tablespoons olive oil through the feed tube; continue processing until the color and texture begin to lighten, about 30 seconds.
• Turn the machine off and add garlic, mustard, and salt. With the motor running, slowly add remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil; continue processing 1 minute more. Season with salt and pepper. Eggplant caviar may be kept refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 1 week.