Leticia, author of Revelando Sabores, returns to the blog to bring us a recipe you'll love for its simplicity and endless possibilities: making blinis is very easy and can solve an impromptu dinner or be the perfect appetizer for a more formal meal. Her proposal is served with foie and caramelized apple, a delicious combination... And at the end we give you more ideas to create many other delicious blini recipes!
If there’s a time I envy the rich and famous, it’s definitely when summer arrives... No, it’s not what you’re thinking. It’s not for their fabulous vacations, nor for the wonderful beach houses. Not even for their mermaid-like poses at the water’s edge... If there’s something I envy it’s the wonderful dinners they throw at sunset.
Look, understand me, yes, I also host dinners at home when the good weather arrives, but mine are usually a “caught you off guard” kind of thing, an improvised dinner on the fly where you don’t even have time to set a pretty table or prepare all those recipes we’ve saved for when guests come…
We agree that dinners with good company are always enjoyable, but sometimes you want to show off a little. Does that happen to you too? Well today I bring you the solution!! A delicious starter, which we’ll prepare in no time and that will make you look like the perfect hosts. These are blinis with foie-gras and caramelized apple that will delight your guests.
Although the original blinis are made with baker’s yeast, I’ve adapted the recipe so you can make them with baking powder, meaning the batter doesn’t need to rise, and a 30-minute rest is more than enough. They may be more like pancakes this way, but I assure you they’re equally delicious.
And if you also have the Mineral B iron blini pan which lets you make 16 mini blinis at once, and you use the batter resting time to prepare the caramelized apple, I guarantee that you won’t take long to prepare this delicious starter.
Let’s get the blini recipe!
INGREDIENTS
Ingredients for the blinis:
- 50gr of flour
- 50gr of whole wheat flour
- 200ml of milk
- 1 egg
- 8gr of baking powder (½ packet approx.)
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- ½ teaspoon of pepper
- Oil to grease the pan
Ingredients for the caramelized apple:
- 2 apples
- 1 tablespoon of butter
- 1 tablespoon of brown sugar
To garnish the blinis, also:
- 1 bloc of foie gras
Preparation of blinis with foie and caramelized apple
We prepare the blini batter:
- In a bowl sift the flour together with the baking powder. Add the milk, salt, pepper and the egg yolk (reserve the white).
- Mix well, using some hand whisk, until all the ingredients are perfectly combined
- Cover the bowl with cling film and let the mixture rest in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.
We prepare the caramelized apples:
- Peel the apples, core them and slice them thinly using a sharp knife (if you want to use all the flesh, the Opinel peeling knife works great).
- Heat a pan over medium heat, or as I do in this case the skillet by Le Creuset, add the butter and, once melted, add the apple.
- When the apple is tender, add the brown sugar to the pan and keep over heat until the sugar has dissolved and the apple is golden, taking care not to burn it. Set aside.
We prepare and assemble the blinis:
- After the batter has rested, beat the reserved egg white to stiff peaks, either with a hand mixer or with a hand whisk, and once beaten add it to the previous mixture using folding motions and a spatula so the whites deflate as little as possible.
- Heat the De Buyer Mineral B iron blini pan over medium heat, grease each cavity with a little oil using a brush, and once the pan is hot place a teaspoon of batter in each cavity. When the batter begins to bubble and the edges are set, flip them over.
- Let the blinis cook on the other side; they will need less time, and when they are ready remove them to a plate covered with aluminum foil so they don’t get cold while you finish making them all.
- Repeat the process until the batter is used up, lightly greasing the pan cavities each time.
- Once all the blinis are ready, place a teaspoon of foie gras and a slice of caramelized apple on each one.
De Buyer Mineral B iron blini pan, Pols Ceramic bowl, Bérard flour spoon, Pallarès knife and Serrano foie bloc
More recipes with blinis
I hope you like the recipe and enjoy it as much as we do at home. The truth is that the combination of foie with caramelized apple is a real winner, both for presentation and for its delightful contrast and flavor.
In my case I made mini-blinis, but you can also make blinis about ten centimeters in diameter with the help of blini pans (the Skeppshult or the one from De Buyer are designed specifically for this!).
It’s a very easy batter to prepare and you can combine them with many delicious ingredients, they are usually served with savory toppings: (1) topped with a little spreadable cheese and salmon, (2) with arugula and chicken, (3) with arugula, eggs and prawns, (4) with omelette and mushrooms, (5) with asparagus and mushrooms, (6) with Roquefort cheese, arugula and walnuts, (7) with spreadable cheese and chatka, (8) with spreadable cheese, quail eggs and cherry tomatoes, (9) with hard-boiled egg and caviar... Choose your favorite ingredients and let your imagination run wild, you’ll get it right!
