Blini are an elegant way to begin a meal. They’re light, creamy, and refined, and they’re a wonderful vehicle for garnishes, so we serve them six or seven different ways, treating them, in effect, like a luxurious potato. The blini almost dissolve on your tongue, leaving the flavors of the garnishes.
One way we serve them is with roasted peppers and eggplant caviar. Another is with bottarga, a bright tasty garnish, especially when paired with the rich, buttery tomato confit. But these blini are great even with just a little fresh butter. Although we make them small, there’s no reason you can’t make them larger.
1 pound Yukon Gold potatoes
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 to 3 tablespoons crème fraîche, at room temperature
2 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
Kosher salt and freshly ground white pepper
I like to use Yukon Gold potatoes for these blini because they absorb more cream than other potatoes and thus result in the best possible texture. This recipe will make extra batter, but it’s a difficult recipe to reduce. The batter is best when used immediately, but it can be made up to two hours ahead if stored in a warm place (the cream may clot if it gets too cold). Please use a scale to weigh the proper amount of potatoes after puréeing them, and make the batter while the potatoes are still warm or the blini will not have the correct texture.
Place the potatoes in a saucepan with cold water to cover by at least 2 inches. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce the heat, and simmer until the potatoes are thoroughly cooked and tender.
Peel the warm potatoes and press them through a tamis. Immediately weigh out 9 ounces of puréed potatoes and place them in a medium metal bowl. Working quickly, whisk the flour into the warm potatoes, then whisk in 2 tablespoons crème fraîche. Add 1 egg, whisking until the batter is smooth, add the second egg, and then add the yolk.
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 crème fraîche. Season to taste with salt and white pepper.
Heat an electric griddle to 350°F. Note, if you do not have a griddle, heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Spoon between 1 and 1½ teaspoons of batter onto the griddle or skillet for each pancake. Cook until the bottoms are browned, 1 to 2 minutes. Then flip them to cook the second side, about 1 minute. The blini should be evenly browned with a small ring of white around the edges. Transfer the blini to a small baking sheet and keep warm while you make the remaining blini, wiping the skillet with a paper towel between batches. Serve the blini as soon as possible.
makes about 3 dozen small blini
¼ cup minced Tomato Confit (9 pieces)
1½ tablespoons Vegetable Stock or Chicken Stock
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons Beurre Monté
1½ teaspoons minced Italian parsley
Kosher salt
12 Yukon Gold Potato Blini
Small piece of bottarga di muggine (see Sources)
Bottarga is the salted roe of cod or tuna. I use bottarga di muggine, from cod, because it has a milder flavor than the tuna, bottarga di tonno. It’s sold by the piece and, kept tightly wrapped in the refrigerator, will last for months. It’s salty and has a pleasant fishy taste, not unlike anchovies. In Italy, it’s grated over pasta and is wonderful that way. It would also work perfectly as a garnish for risotto, or grated over salad.
Warm the tomato confit and stock in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the olive oil and simmer for a few seconds. Reduce the heat and stir in the beurre monté, parsley, and salt to taste.
Place a spoonful of the sauce on each plate. Top each plate with 2 blini and grate bottarga over and around the pancakes.
makes 6 servings
2 tablespoons minced roasted yellow bell pepper
2 tablespoons minced roasted red bell pepper
1½ tablespoons Vegetable Stock or Chicken Stock
1 tablespoon Beurre Monté
1½ teaspoons minced chives
Kosher salt
¼ cup Eggplant Caviar
12 Yukon Gold Potato Blini
About 1½ teaspoons Pepper Confetti
Combine the minced peppers and stock in a small saucepan and simmer over medium heat until most of the stock has evaporated. Reduce the heat and stir in the beurre monté, chives, and salt to taste. Remove from the heat.
Place a spoonful of eggplant caviar on each plate. Top with 2 overlapping potato blini and garnish each serving with a quenelle, or small oval scoop, of roasted peppers. Sprinkle the plates with the pepper confetti.
pictured here makes 6 servings
1 large eggplant (about 1¼ pounds)
Kosher salt
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for roasting
¼ teaspoon very finely minced garlic (almost a paste)
½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
Cut the eggplant lengthwise in half. Score both halves on the flesh side, making a crisscross pattern about ¼ inch deep. Sprinkle both halves with salt and place them scored side down on a baking sheet. Cover with another baking sheet and place a heavy object (such as a set of bowls) on top. Let the eggplant render its excess liquid at room temperature for 1 to 2 hours.
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Rinse the eggplant, pat dry, and rub with some olive oil. Place the halves flesh side down on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Roast for about an hour, or until the eggplant is very soft and the skin is wrinkled; there should be no resistance when tested with a knife. Remove from the oven and let sit until cool enough to handle.
Scoop out the eggplant pulp and lightly chop it. Place the pulp in a double layer of cheesecloth and tie it securely into a bundle with butcher’s twine. Leave the ends of the twine about 6 inches long so you can hang the bundle from a refrigerator shelf over a bowl, making sure it dangles freely. Or simply place the bundle in a colander set over a bowl and refrigerate. Let drain for at least 2 hours, or overnight.
Remove the eggplant from the refrigerator and hold the bundle over the sink. Twist and squeeze the cheesecloth to remove as much additional liquid as possible.
Place the pulp (you should have about ½ cup) in a small food processor or mini-chop. Pulse a few times to begin breaking up the eggplant. With the motor running, slowly pour 2 tablespoons of the olive oil through the feed tube. Continue blending for 30 seconds. The color and texture will begin to lighten. Stop the machine and add the garlic, mustard, and salt to taste. Blend again, then add the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil. Continue processing for another minute, then taste and adjust the seasoning. Cover and store in the refrigerator until ready to serve, or for up to 1 week.
pictured here makes ½ cup