Salmon and Caviar Blini Bites

Print Pin

Salmon, some real or imitation caviar, and crème fraiche, on a tiny homemade blini? Sign me up.

For the caviar, you could use an expensive real caviar, or something slightly less expensive like paddlefish roe or salmon roe. I have been experimenting lately with some seaweed-based caviar products out there that offer a ton of flavor for less than 1% of the price of real caviar.

The following recipe makes about 20-bite sized appetizers.

Ingredients

1 whole egg
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp butter (melted)
¾ tsp Kosher salt
½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp white granulated sugar
A few grinds of fresh black pepper
7/8 cup almost 1 cup whole milk
12 oz ¾ lb sushi-grade fresh salmon, cut into 20 bite-sized pieces
¾ cup crème fraiche
2 oz about 50 grams imitation caviar, or paddlefish roe
4 fresh chives (finely slices, as garnish)

Instructions

Whisk together the whole egg, flour, butter, Kosher salt, baking powder, white granulated sugar, and a few grinds of fresh black pepper.
Add the whole milk, and mix until no lumps remain in the flour.
Preheat a cast iron skillet or nonstick pan over medium heat.
Pour a small amount of the batter into the pan, roughly 2 teaspoons of batter per blini.
Carefully flip them over when they are golden brown, and allow them to cook briefly on the second side.
Arrange your cooked blini on a serving tray.
On top of each one, add small squares of the sushi-grade salmon, topped with some crème fraiche, caviar, and sliced chives.

Notes

These are best assembled and eaten right away.