Yuri's Blini

By Hklbrries

"Cooking is a hobby for free-lance photographer Yuri Zemchenko, a Russian who has been living in Juneau for a year. Here is his grandmother's "secret" recipe for blini, which are pancakes filled with fried apples, ground meat and onion, cottage cheese with sugar and raisins or other fillings."

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Anne Chandonnet, Alaska magazine

Ingredients

• 1 cake or tablespoon of yeast
• 2 cups scalded milk, cooled to 85 degrees
• 2 cups buckwheat flour
• 2 or 3 eggs, separated
• Salt to taste
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 to 1 cup leftover oatmeal or Cream of Wheat
• 1/3 cup oil or melted butter

Preparation

Step 1

Mix 1 cup flour, 1 cup warm milk and yeast. Cpver bowl and set in a warm place, about 1 1/2 hours. Add beaten egg yolks and melted butter. Stir in remaining flour, leftover cereal and salt, and let mixture rise again about 1 1/2 hours or until almost doubled in bulk. Then fold in softly beaten egg whites.

Add remaining warm milk to stop action of yeast. "This is a really big secret," says Zemchenko. Allow to rest 10 minutes, then cook batter, a small quantity at a time, on a greased skillet or griddle. Turn to brown lightly on other side. Serve rolled with a filling of your choice, such as fried, chopped onion. "Best is served with red caviar and salt fish like salmon, honey, sour cream," says Zemchenko.