Smoked Salmon Blinis with Crème Fraîche and Cucumber
- Savory
- Quick
- No cook
A classic Christmas Eve starter: blinis topped with cool crème fraîche, silky smoked salmon, crisp cucumber and dill, finished with a squeeze of lemon.
- Total
- 18 min
- Prep 18
- Serves
- 4
- Difficulty
- Easy
You'll practice: Zesting · Balancing with acid
Instructions
-
Zest the lemon into a small bowl, then cut the lemon into wedges. Stir the crème fraîche with half the lemon zest, 0.25 tsp salt and a few grinds of black pepper.
~3 min
Salting the crème fraîche lightly seasons it evenly and helps it hold its shape on the blinis.
Zesting Zest only the yellow outer peel, stopping before the bitter white pith; a light touch gives fragrant zest without bitterness.
-
Peel the cucumber, cut it in half lengthways and scrape out the seeds with a teaspoon. Slice the flesh into thin half-moons about 3 mm thick.
~4 min
Removing the watery seeds keeps the cucumber crisp and stops the blinis turning soggy.
Scraping the watery seeds out of the cucumber stops the blinis turning soggy if they sit on the platter for a few minutes.
-
Pick the dill leaves and chop them finely, keeping a few small sprigs aside for the top.
~2 min
-
Arrange the 12 blinis on a serving platter. Spoon a generous teaspoon of the lemon crème fraîche onto each one and spread it almost to the edge.
~4 min
Spreading the crème fraîche almost to the edge creates a border that helps hold the salmon and cucumber in place.
-
Drape a folded slice of smoked salmon over each blini, then tuck a few cucumber slices alongside. Scatter with the chopped dill and the reserved lemon zest.
~4 min
-
Finish with a light grind of black pepper and serve straight away with the lemon wedges for squeezing over.
~1 min
Serving straight away keeps the cucumber crisp and the blinis from softening under the toppings.
Squeeze the lemon over the blinis just before eating: the juice keeps the cucumber crisp and cuts the richness of the crème fraîche.
Balancing with acid Add lemon juice at the last moment so its fresh acidity brightens the rich crème fraîche and salmon without making the cucumber limp.
