Recipe by Sima Cutting of The Kitchen Table, Totnes
Ingredients
Makes approximately 50 mini canapes
Blinis Ingredients
- 100g plain flour
- 1 egg separated
- 150ml milk
- 25g butter, melted
- Half a small boiled beetroot, pureed
Gravadlax Ingredients – cures x1 filleted fish
- 1 juniper berry
- 1 whole star anise
- 1/2 tablespoon fennel seeds
- 1/4 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
- 100g coarse sea salt
- 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1/4 lemon, cut into rough chunks
- 1tbs gin
Cucumber Ingredients
- 1/4 cucumber spices & vinegar – as you wish – dill seeds are nice…
- 1 tsp sugar
- pinch of salt
Method
To make the Blinis
Add the egg yolk to the flour and season. Whisk in 1/2 the milk until smooth then add the melted butter and rest of the milk.
Add chopped chives or parsley if you wish.
In a separate clean bowl, whisk the whites to stiff peaks then fold in the batter.
Heat oil in the pan and fry each blini quickly.
To make the Gravadlax
Clean, scale and pinbone the fillet.
Place all the spices for the salting mix into a food processor with 1 tablespoon of the sea salt. Pulse the mixture to break up the spices. Add the rest of the salt and the sugar with lemon, then pulse until the lemon is broken up and you have a uniform, coarse mixture.
Mix the mixture with the gin and scatter a layer of the salt and spice mixture at least 1cm thick into a container.
Place the fish on the salt. Scatter the rest of the salt to that the fish is covered.
Place in airtight container in the fridge overnight. The fish will become quite firm and pale in colour (you can leave it longer if you like – you have to soak it longer afterwards).
Remove the fish and rinse under cold water.
Soak in cold water for about an hour, changing the water every 10-15 minutes.
Dry with kitchen paper.
Slice thinly.
To make the Cucumber
Cut the cucumber in half and scrape out the seeds.
Thinly slice.
Mix a tablespoon of vinegar, sugar, salt & spice and drizzle over the cucumber.
Drain 12 hours later.
Assemble the blinis which can be served cold – creme fraiche on the blini, fish on top and a slice of cucumber or two.
Delish as part of a party canapé selection and can easily be made GF replacing the plain flour in the blinis with GF flour.
