Homemade Blinis & Smoked Salmon

📝 Ingredients

• 100 g plain flour
• ½ sachet baking powder (5 g)
• 2 eggs
• 150 ml semi-skimmed milk
• 1 tsp rapeseed oil (for the pan)
• 200 g fromage frais
• ½ lemon (zest and juice)
• 120 g smoked salmon (about 4 slices)
• 10 g fresh dill
• Salt, black pepper

🍴 Utensils

• 2 mixing bowls
• Electric whisk or balloon whisk
• Non-stick frying pan
• Spatula
• Kitchen paper
• Wire rack or large plate

📖 Steps

1. Separate the whites from the yolks: put the whites in a clean, dry bowl (the slightest trace of yolk will stop them whipping) and the yolks in the other bowl. Whisk the yolks with the milk.
2. Add the flour, baking powder and a pinch of salt to the yolks, then whisk to a smooth, thick, lump-free batter that coats the whisk. Leave to rest for 10 min.
3. Whisk the whites with a pinch of salt to stiff peaks (2 to 3 min with an electric mixer): they should hold a peak when you lift the whisk. Fold them into the batter in two batches with a spatula, lifting gently to keep the air in.
4. Heat the frying pan over medium-low heat and grease it lightly with kitchen paper dipped in oil. Drop in 1 tbsp batter per blini, spacing them well apart: they should be about 5 cm across.
5. Cook for 1 min 30, until bubbles appear on the surface and the edges are set, flip with a spatula and cook for 1 min more. They should be golden, not brown: lower the heat if they colour too quickly. Re-grease the pan for each batch.
6. Leave the blinis to cool flat on a wire rack or large plate, without stacking them: if topped while warm, they would melt the fromage frais and turn it runny.
7. Mix the fromage frais with the zest of the half lemon, 1 tbsp of its juice, half the chopped dill and some pepper. Taste before adding salt: the salmon will already bring some saltiness. Cut the salmon into 2 cm wide strips.
8. Spoon 1 tsp lemony fromage frais onto each blini, add a strip of salmon rolled into a little rose and a sprig of dill, then season with pepper. Serve within the hour, allowing about 5 blinis per person.