Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Buckwheat-Cheddar Blini with Smoked Salmon

I was very excited to get my first issue of Food and Wine magazine in the mail. Featured in this month's magazine was a spread on Sophie Dahl (Roald Dahl's granddaughter!). Yeah, Ray didn't know who Roald Dahl was either- hello!?!?! Charlie and the Chocolate Factory?

She has a new cookbook out, "Miss Dahl's Voluptuous Delights." Not sure if it sounded like something I would want to buy so I decided to give this recipe a try first. Anything for the opportunity to use my handy dandy griddle/panini maker!

onw

Buckwheat-Cheddar Blini with Smoked Salmon
Recipe adapated from Sophie Dahl, courtesy of Food and Wine Magazine

Ingredients
3/4 cup buckwheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon dry mustard powder
2/3 cup milk
1 1/2 tablespoons snipped chives
1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
salt and freshly ground pepper
2 large egg whites
sliced smoked salmon, cut into thin strips
fat-free sour cream

Directions
In a medium bowl, whisk the buckwheat flour, baking powder and dry mustard. Whisk in the milk until smooth. Add the chives, cheddar cheese and season with salt and pepper.

boewl

Beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until firm peaks form. Whisk one-fourth of the whites into the batter. Fold in the remaining whites.

Heat a griddle over moderate heat until very hot and spray with vegetable oil spray. Spoon 1-tablespoon mounds of batter onto the griddle and cook until bubbles form around the edges of the blini, about 2 minutes. Flip and cook the blini for about 30 seconds longer.

Blini 005 copy

Top with the smoked salmon and a dollop of sour cream.

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Overall, it tasted good but not something worth making again. I think I was more excited to make it than to actually eat it. Her substitution of sour cream in place of the more traditional creme fraiche was not a good idea though - the sour cream was a bit TOO sour for my taste.

Looks like this cookbook will be staying on the bookshelf.