Salmon Blinis with Dill Chantilly

I'm sure these salmon blinis with dill chantilly will become your star appetizer. It's a recipe that meets the three main requirements to succeed: it's very easy to prepare, ready in very little time and the result is excellent. Also, by simply changing the ingredients, you'll have a go-to recipe to vary and surprise at home or with your guests.

To make sure it's a complete success (and I guarantee it won't fail), just remember the day before to place a sprig of chopped fresh dill in the cream for the chantilly cream. This way, the fat particles in the cream will absorb and lock in the dill aromas and the result will be much more fragrant.

And once you have the batter, to have the blinis ready in the blink of an eye, nothing beats cooking them in the De Buyer Mineral B iron 16-blini pan. Its 16 small wells are ideal for making 16 blinis at once, with a perfect shape and just the right golden color. Super fast and efficient!

Blini pan

IMPORTANT: We make small blinis, bite-sized, ideal as an appetizer, morsel or side. But if you prefer, you can make medium blinis with the same recipe: simply portion a bit more batter into blini pans or medium-sized pancake pans (you can use the De Buyer individual blini pan or the 3-cavity pan), to serve the blinis as a first course or as a more generous appetizer.

Shall we go with the recipe?

Ingredients

For the blini batter:

• 1 egg (separate yolk and white)
• 125 g flour
• 150 ml milk
• 7 g sugar
• 1 pinch of salt
• 30 g unsalted butter melted (and a little more to grease the pan)
• 7 g sunflower oil or mild olive oil
• 2 g dry baker's yeast

For the chantilly cream:

• A sprig of fresh dill
• 50 g liquid cream (minimum 30% fat)
• Salt and pepper

For final assembly:

• 2 slices of smoked salmon

Preparation

To make the chantilly cream:

1. The day before, put the chopped sprig of fresh dill with the 50 g of cream and keep it in the fridge in an airtight jar.
2. The next day, before making the blinis, strain the cream to remove the chopped dill.
3. Add a little salt and pepper to the cream and whisk it slowly in a very cold bowl until it is whipped, but not too stiff. You can do this with the mixer at low speed.
4. Keep the chantilly cream in a piping bag with a star tip in the fridge until ready to assemble the blinis.

To prepare the blinis:

1. Dissolve the yeast in a little milk. When dissolved, add the rest of the milk and let rest for 15 minutes.
2. In a bowl put the flour, sugar, pinch of salt and oil and mix with a whisk until the ingredients are combined.
3. Add the melted butter and the egg yolk, keeping the white in a separate bowl.
4. Add the milk mixed with the yeast, stir until incorporated and let the mixture rest for 30 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, beat the egg white with a whisk until it begins to be firm and forms soft peaks.
6. Fold the white into the mixture with the rest of the ingredients. Do it gently with a spatula and set the batter aside.
7. Heat the De Buyer Mineral B iron 16-blini pan over medium/low heat.
8. Grease each cavity with a little butter and pour portions of batter into each one.
9. When bubbles appear on the blinis, flip them and let them finish cooking for about 1 minute.

Assembly:

1. Cut the slices of salmon into pieces.
2. Arrange the blinis on a platter and pipe a rosette of chantilly in the center of each blini.
3. Now place the pieces of salmon resting on the chantilly cream, with a bit of style.
4. Garnish with a sprig of dill on the chantilly rosette.
5. Chill the platter in the fridge for a few minutes before serving.

Notes

• To put the blini batter into each cavity of the pan, you can use spoons or place the batter in a piping bag and pipe a little batter into each well. You can also use the Le Tube De Buyer pressure gun, using the regulator so the amount of batter is always the same.
• As you can see, this recipe can be a perfect "wardrobe staple" in your appetizer repertoire. By simply swapping the cream for a cream cheese, adding different herbs, using anchovies or cod or some pickles instead of salmon, you'll have different and equally delicious blinis.