Pickled salmon blinis are an indulgent and luxurious starter. Image: Salvelio Meyer.
Passionfruit Pickled Salmon Blinis – Add some elegance to a three-course meal
Add some style to your next formal dinner with these beautiful blinis.
Pickled salmon blinis are an indulgent and luxurious starter. Image: Salvelio Meyer.
Having guests over and want to serve a fancy three-course meal? Surprise them with this elegant Passionfruit Pickled Salmon Blinis starter. It’s an appetising combo of sweet and salty, a tested and tried duet that will make your guests’ taste buds sing with delight.
Blinis originated in Russia. They are basically tiny pancakes used as a base for appetisers. Blinis are best served with salmon as directed in this recipe, or with caviar. Another delicious topping for a blini is aioli and a piece of shrimp.
When baking blinis, it is important to give the batter enough space in the pan to expand slightly. Then, allow the blinis to cook for a minute or two per side. When the edges turn golden brown, you will know the blinis are ready. Keep the baked blinis warm in the oven while you finish off the rest of the blinis.
These stylish Passionfruit Pickled Salmon Blinis are also perfect to take to a gathering as an appetiser or finger food. So, next time you are searching your recipe archives for a classy starter or appetiser, look no further than this decadent Passionfruit Pickled Salmon Blinis recipe.
Passionfruit Pickled Salmon Blinis Recipe
Course: StarterCuisine: GlobalDifficulty: ModerateServings
6
servingsPrep time
1
hourCooking time
15
minutesCooling Time
24
hoursTotal time
1
hour15
minutesIngredients
- For the salmon
450 g 450 salmon fillet, skinned
1½ tablespoon 1½ Maldon salt
38 g 38 sugar
12 12 white peppercorns
1½ teaspoons 1½ mustard seeds
4½ 4½ fresh passionfruit
1½ tablespoons 1½ canola oil
- For the blinis and to plate
3 3 eggs
75 ml 75 milk
150 g 150 spelt flour
1½ teaspoons 1½ baking powder
salt
6 teaspoons 6 olive oil
90 g 90 crème craiche
90 g 90 good-quality mayonnaise
3 miniature 3 salad cucumbers
Maldon salt
ground black pepper
1½ tablespoons 1½ white wine vinegar
6 tablespoons 6 canola oil
some micro-greens or basil leaves to garnish
Method
- Crush the salt, peppercorns and mustard seeds using a mortar and pestle (not too fine) and sprinkle onto the salmon. Remove the flesh from the passionfruit, blend for a few minutes, then pass through a sieve. Add the oil, mix well, then pour over the salmon.
- Cover salmon with cling wrap and place a plate on top along with some weights – cans work well. Keep in the fridge for 24 hours, turning the salmon once in between.
- For the blinis, whisk together the milk and eggs. Mix flour, baking powder and salt, then sift it on top of the egg/milk mixture. Whisk together until smooth. Cover for 30 minutes.
- Heat 1 teaspoon of oil in small pan and add enough batter to the pan to make each blini about 12cm in diameter. You’ll have to cook these in batches. Cook each blini for about two minutes per side or until golden. Remove from the pan and drain on kitchen paper.
- Combine the crème fraiche and mayonnaise; place in fridge. Wash the cucumbers and, with a peeler, cut long strips till you reach the pips in the middle. Season the strips with salt and pepper, and mix with the vinegar and oil.
- To plate, remove the salmon from the marinade, blotting off as much marinade as possible. Halve lengthwise, then cut into thin slices. Drain the cucumbers, add a little of the micro-greens and mix.
- Spread the mayo/crème fraiche mixture onto the blinis, and top with salmon and cucumber ribbons. |Sprinkle with micro-greens and basil, and serve.
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This mouth-watering recipe from Chef Ralph Gottschalk, owner and principal of the South African Academy of Culinary Arts (Saaca), will definitely add some elegance to a special evening. Click here for more recipes from him.
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