Buckwheat Blini with Crab Salad

The recipe for the sublime blini in Roxana Jullapat’s Mother Grains, from which this is adapted, is a revelation. The yeasted buckwheat batter must be made at least two hours before you want to cook the blini, as they need to rise, but their delicate nutty flavor and beautiful texture are so fabulous, it’s well worth it, and the batter’s not difficult to achieve.

[Read “Cookbook Review: Roxana Jullapat’s ‘Mother Grains’ has all the makings of a new classic.”]

Jullapat’s original recipe calls for Dungeness crab salad — which of course would be ideal, but Dungeness crab can be hard to find away from the west coast, and she points out you can use any kind of crab you can get locally.

She also gives a few great suggestions for alternative toppings for the canapés: caviar or smoked fish (as is traditional in Russia, where blini were born) are naturals, of course. She also suggests avocado and grated bottarga (sounds great!), “a dollop of fromage blanc and rhubarb jam,” or a “smear of strained yogurt with dill and salted cucumber.” I made some with a dab of crème fraîche, a bit of smoked trout, a few drops of lemon juice, plus lemon zest and chives — fantastic. Smoked salmon would be great done up the same way (maybe with dill or fennel frond), or top them with egg salad, shaved raw asparagus and dill. Or smoked trout pâté loosened up with extra crème fraîche and lemon. And I can’t help but wonder how they’d be with sliced avocado and a dab of salsa macha and cilantro. Next time!

NOTE: Although Jullapat’s recipe doesn’t say you can so, you can make the batter ahead of time and keep it refrigerated in a bowl covered with plastic wrap up to 18 hours before you cook them. It was maybe a wee bet less fabulous than cooked up as soon as the batter was ready, but the difference, if any, was barely distinguishable. That’s useful if you want to cook up half of them right away, then put away the batter and make it the next day.

You’ll need a non-stick pan or a non-stick griddle or electric griddle, an instant-read thermometer and either a squeeze bottle or a pastry bag with a plain tip — or improvise a pastry bag by snipping a tiny hole in the corner of a sturdy plastic zipper bag (1 quart or larger).

Makes 3 dozen blini.

Ingredients

1 cup (240 ml) whole milk

1 teaspoon instant yeast

1/2 cup (70 g) all-purpose flour

1/2 cup (80 g) buckwheat flour

1 tablespoon sugar

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1 large egg, separated

3 tablespoons vegetable oil, plus extra to panfry the blini

1 avocado

A few drops of lemon juice and additional salt to dress avocado

Crab salad (recipe follows)

Dill for garnish

Instructions

1. Heat the milk in a small saucepan until lukewarm, between 98 degrees and 105 degrees F. Transfer to a small, heat-resistant container. Sprinkle the yeast over the warm milk. Stir to help it dissolve and let it sit for 5 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, sift the all-purpose flour, buckwheat flour, sugar and salt into a large bowl and make a well in the center. In a separate small bowl, combine the egg yolk with the 3 tablespoons of oil and the dissolved yeast mixture. Pour the liquid mixture into the well in the dry ingredients and start whisking from the center out, slowly drawing in more flour while working out lumps. Continue until all the dry ingredients are incorporated and the mixture looks smooth. Cover with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until doubled in size.

3. In a medium bowl, beat the egg white until soft peaks form. Use a rubber spatula to gently fold the egg white into the batter. Cover and let it rest 20 minutes.

4. Heat a nonstick pan or griddle over medium heat. Dampen a paper towel with a little cooking oil, and use it to coat the pan lightly with oil. Use the squeeze bottle or pastry bag to deposit dollops of batter onto the skillet 1 inch apart, as if you were making silver dollar pancakes — they should be 2 to 2 1/2 inches in diameter. Alternatively, you can pour dollops with a spoon onto the pan. Flip when small bubbles start to form on top, about 1 minute or 90 seconds, and continue to cook on the other side for 1 minute. As they’re finished, transfer them to a plate and cover with a clean kitchen towel to keep them warm. Repeat to make more blini, adding more oil only if necessary.

5. To assemble the blini, halve the avocado and remove the pit. Scoop the flesh from the skin with a large spoon. Halve each half lengthwise, and slice each quarter crosswise into thin slivers. Season lightly with lemon juice. Top each blini with about a teaspoon of crab salad and garnish with a thin slice of avocado and sprig of dill. Alternative, you can arrange the components on a tray so guests can help themselves and build their own blini.

Crab Salad

If you live on the West Coast and have access to Dungeness crab, that’s what you want to use — and it’s specifically what Jullapat calls for in the cookbook. Alas, I don’t, and used defrosted frozen lump crabmeat — and it was still very good.

Makes 2 cups.

Ingredients

8 ounces (225 g) fresh crabmeat, preferably Dungeness

1/2 cup (120 g) sour cream

Finely grated zest of 1 small Meyer lemon (or substitute regular lemon)

2 tablespoons minced chives

1 tablespoon minced dill

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, or to taste

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste

Instructions

Combine the crab, sour cream, lemon zest and dill in a nonreactive bowl. Season with lemon juice and salt to taste. Refrigerate, covered, until ready to use.