Blini with Smoked Salmon

Do you like crapes and pancakes? If so, you are in the right place because blini are a combination of both. Blini (singular blin), Russian style crapes or pancakes, are very popular in Russia and the former Soviet Union countries. They can be eaten with some sour cream or soft cheese and jam for breakfast, or filled with savory ingredients and served as an appetizer.

Here is a delicious recipe of blini made with smoked wild Alaska salmon. Adjust amounts of the ingredients in the filling to your liking. If you would like your blini to have a kick to them, add some hot sauce into the filling. You can also add some finely chopped onion or capers, so basically feel free to improvise. For the blini batter, add more flour, a little at a time, if the first blin turns out too thin. It is pretty common to have a bad first blin, even for a seasoned blini maker.

Prep: 1o min Inactive: 20 min Cook: 20 min Total: 50 min Servings: 10-12 blini

Ingredients

Smoked Salmon Filling:

5 oz cream cheese

1/3 to 1/2 cup mayonnaise or sour cream

4 to 6 oz jarred smoked salmon, shredded

1 tbsp fresh or 1/2 tsp dry dill

black pepper to taste

Blini Batter:

2 cups milk

2 eggs

1 tbsp light oil, plus some for oiling the pan

1 3/4 cup all purpose flour

1/4 tsp salt

Directions

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs. Pour in the milk and beat together. Blend in the flour and salt, then add the oil. The batter should be very thin, but not as thin as the crape batter. Set the bowl aside and let rest for 15 to 20 minutes.

Meanwhile in a medium bowl, mix the cream cheese, mayonnaise, pepper, and dill. Cover and place into the fridge.

Preheate a 9 inch cast iron or heavy bottom frying pan over medium heat. With paper towel or a brush, oil the bottom of the pan. Lift the pan off the heat. Pour in a scant 1/2 cup of the batter, tilting and rotating the pan so the batter coats the bottom.

Place the pan back on the burner. Cook a blin for about 1 minute. Lift up an edge of the blin to see if it turned golden brown on the bottom. Flip the blin over and cook the other side for 30 seconds.

Repeat the steps with the rest of the batter, oiling the pan before cooking each blin.

Stack the blini on top of each other.