Buckwheat Blinis

Buckwheat Blinis

1. Make the flax egg mixture and leave to one side.
2. Mix the flour with the baking powder and salt. Whisk in the milk to add air pockets into the mix.
3. Carefully fold in the flax egg.
4. Leave the mix to rest for 30 minutes, to allow the baking powder to start working and lighten the batter.
5. Heat enough oil to lightly coat the bottom of a medium/large saucepan.
6. When the pan is hot, spoon just less than 1 tbsp of batter near the edge of the pan to create a mini pancake shape. Continue to add more batter to the pan, careful to leave enough space between them for turning over (aim to have no more than 4–5 in a pan at once).
7. When air bubbles start to appear in the centre of the blinis and the edges looked cooked (about 2–3 minutes, make sure the pan isn’t getting too hot), flip the blinis over for another 1–2 minutes until the bases are golden.
8. Turn the blinis out and rest on kitchen paper while you continue to cook the remaining batter
9. Serve with a heaped teaspoon of either a shop bought vegan cream cheese (or see the recipe below) in the centre of the blini and place a few micro herbs or pea shoots on top. Transfer to a small serving plate. You could drizzle some olive oil over the top of the cream cheese before adding the herbs or shoots for extra sheen. Try adding some small, diced beetroot on top of the cheese for more garnish. You could also grate lemon zest over the finished blinis. For texture try adding some toasted seeds on top.

Beetroot Cashew Cheese

*Quick soaking method for blending: Place the nuts in a heat proof bowl or container and completely cover with boiling water and leave for 20–30 minutes. The water will soften the nuts enough so they can be blended.

1. Place the nuts, beetroot, water, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar and salt in a blender.
2. Blend until smooth.
3. Taste, adjust the seasoning as desired using salt, lemon juice and vinegar.

For more great Lighter Meal recipes, click here.