I have devised several versatile dishes with my favorite holiday ingredients: champagne, buckwheat pancakes called blinis and American caviar. I confess to being transported by the combination of a dry effervescent wine, buckwheat’s grass and earth aroma with the salty fish essence in caviar. The pleasure of this flavor synergy fortifies me for the new year better than any amount of revelry.
I pass small warm buckwheat pancakes topped with crème fraîche and caviar as an hors d’oeuvre after filling flutes with champagne. This combo tastes just as delicious the next morning with Mimosas. At a brunch or a weekend supper I make large blinis with batter to which I have added cooked wild rice. These are served under smoked ham and a poached egg. Another easy riff on these ingredients is a rich gratin of thinly sliced sea scallops covered with crème fraȋche and caviar. This time the blinis are served on the side. A salad to follow suffices.
Best wishes to all for a healthy, productive 2011!
BUCKWHEAT BLINIS WITH CRÈME FRAÎCHE AND CAVIAR
Ingredients for 4 dozen mini-blinis or 12 -15 pancake blinis:
Blinis:
1/2 tablespoon dry active yeast
1/2 cup lukewarm water
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup lukewarm milk
1 cup unbleached flour
2 large egg yolks, lightly beaten
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup buckwheat flour
3 egg whites, beaten
Topping;
1 cup crème fraîche*
1 - 2 ounce tin whitefish caviar
2” length of fresh chives
Directions:
Dissolve the yeast and sugar in the lukewarm water. Whisk in the milk and flour until the batter is smooth. Cover the bowl and let stand for 1 hour.
Stir in the egg yolks, melted butter, salt and buckwheat flour. Cover and let stand at room temperature 4 - 6 hours or overnight in the refrigerator. (If refrigerated, let batter warm to room temperature before continuing.)
Fold in beaten whites one-third at a time. Heat a lightly oiled skillet and drop small batter by the tablespoon to form pancakes 2" in diameter or 1/2 cup amounts for pancakes. Turn them when bubbles form and brown the other side.
Top each blini with a dab of cool cream, a 1/4 teaspoon of caviar and a strip of fresh chive. Serve warm with champagne.
* Crème Fraîche: Ingredients: 1 cup whipping cream and 1 tablespoon buttermilk Directions: Warm cream to room temperature. Stir in the buttermilk. Cover and let stand overnight or until the cream has thickened noticeably. Keep refrigerated. Good for 3-4 weeks.
SLICED SCALLOPS WITH WHITEFISH CAVIAR
Ingredients for 4 servings:
4 teaspoons unsalted butter softened
6 - 8 large sea scallops
1 ounce whitefish or salmon caviar
Zest of 1 lemon, organic if possible
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 cup heavy whipping cream
Coarse sea salt and freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons fresh chives, minced
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Generously butter 4 individual gratin dishes. Thinly slice each scallop into 4 or 5 rounds. Overlap the rounds from 1 1/2 scallops in each dish so that the bottom is covered. Spoon 1 teaspoon caviar over each dish and cover with the rounds from the remaining scallops. Lightly butter the scallops and hold, or cover and refrigerate for as long as two hours.
Bring the cream to a simmer and cook until it is reduced to 2/3's cup. Stir in the lemon juice, seasonings and the remaining caviar.
Place the scallops in the hot oven for 4 to 5 minutes, until they have have just turned opaque. Remove dishes and spoon the sauce over each serving. Garnish with chives. Season with coarse sea salt and freshly ground pepper.
WILD RICE BLINIS WITH HAM AND EGGS
Ingredients for 8 servings:
1 recipe bliini batter
1 cup cooked wild rice (follow directions on package)
8 slices sliced ham or Canadian bacon
8 poached eggs
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons minced chives or parsley
Directions:
Stir the wild rice into the blini batter along with the egg whites. Prepare the blinis and hold them in a 250 degree oven.
Warm thinly sliced ham with the blinis in the oven or, briefly sauté the Canadian bacon slices and keep warm. Poach the eggs.*
Assembly: Layer a blini, a slice of ham and an egg on each plate. Season lightly with sea salt, freshly ground pepper and minced chives.
*Poaching and Holding eggs: Fill a deep skillet 2 “ or wide saucepan with cool water. Bring to a simmer and add 2 tablespoons cider or malt vinegar. Break each egg into a glass or ceramic bowl. Lower the lip of the bowl into the water allowing the hot water to surround the egg before releasing it into the skillet. Use a spatula to gently release the egg where it sticks to the bottom of the skillet. After 3 minutes, lift each egg from the skillet into a bowl of cold water, then onto a plate covered with paper toweling.
Hold eggs, under oiled plastic wrap at room temperature for an hour or refrigerate for 2 -3 hours. Reheat for 1 minute in freshly simmering, salted water before serving.
