Blini (блины)

Blini are large, thin crepe-like pancakes. A whole week is dedicated to eating them during a popular Slavic holiday called Maslentitza, right before Easter. Blini are extremely versatile as they can be sweet or savory. Perfect for breakfast, brunch, lunch or dessert. They should be served warm with a variety of filling such as meat, mushrooms, smoked salmon, caviar, or cottage cheese; however, most Russian prefer them sweet filled with fruit, preservatives, honey, Nutella and condensed milk. My favorite is with condensed milk or preservatives with a glass of milk!

Prep Time: 10 min | Cook Time: 20 Min | Total: 30 Min
Serving: 14-17 Blini

Ingredients:

2 and 1/2 cups of room temperature milk (pop it in a microwave for 20-30 second)

2 egg

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 Tbsp sugar (if you want them more sweet add another 1/2 Tbsp of sugar)

1 Tbsp of melted butter

1 Tbsp of vegetable oil

1 cup all purpose flour

Instructions:

1) In a large bowl whisk two eggs and add milk

2) Then add sugar, salt, baking powder, butter and oil. Mix well

3) Gradually add flour so there's no lumps (mixture must turn out runny)

4) Preheat a non-stick pan over low-medium heat (mine are numbered from 1 being low and 7 being high, that said i have my frying pan between 1 and 2 for this recipe)

5) Pour 1/4 cup worth of batter into the center and swirl to spread evenly

6) Cook for 20-30 seconds or until the batter turns yellow and forms bubbles (visibly golden), making sure the batter is complete dry before flipping 

7) Flip and cook for another 20 seconds then remove to a serving plate

Note: The first blin may not turn out the way you want and that's perfectly normal. There's a famous proverb "the first pancake is always a dud" when a person who tried something new and it doesn't work out. Second one will be better, I promise!

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