Beetroot Blinis
Blinis are versatile in many different ways. By themselves, hot off the griddle, topped with a dollop of sour cream or crème fraîche these beetroot blinis are tasty snack or wonderful little appetizer. They are also incredibly easy to dress up. Take these beetroot blinis topped with sour cream and add a little salmon and fresh dill and you have an upscale, elegant starter. Additionally, given their small size they perform a perfect function in the area of portion control.
This recipe uses beetroot which produces a wonderfully vibrant and visually stunning little pancake. Beets are wonderful root vegetable that is available almost year-round and stores well. Beets are great source of anti-inflammatory phytochemicals, carotenoids, and nitrates. Just eating beets can drop your blood pressure as effectively as many single agent pharmaceuticals, and the effects can persist for almost 6 hours. Beets contain pigments called betalains, which possess a number of anti-inflammatory properties. These and other compounds make the sweet and earthy beet a wonderful ingredient against the chronic, continuous inflammation associated with diseases such as obesity, heart disease, diabetes, liver disease, kidney disease and certain types of cancer.
Ingredients:
- 450 g (~1 pound) roasted beetroot
- 70 g (~2.5 ounces, or ~1/2 cup) AP flour
- 70 g (~2 Tbs.) sour cream
- 2 whole eggs + 1 yolk
- Salt and pepper
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 425°F. Clean the beet roots, but leave the skin intact. Lightly coat with olive oil and seal in foil. Place this on a baking sheet and cook for approximately 45 minutes. The beats are done when a paring knife pierces the flesh with no resistance. Do not worry about overcooking the beets, they can tolerate being a little bit more on the done-side and it is critical that they are fully roasted and tender. Remove the beets from the oven, allow to cool and peel.
Place the beets, eggs, egg yolk, and sour cream in a food processor and blend until smooth. There should be no large chunks of beets left. Add the flour and pulse to combine. Transfer to a bowl and allow the batter to rest for 15 to 20 minutes.
To finish the blinis, lightly oil and heat a griddle to 350°F or over low medium heat. Drop 1 to 1 ½ tablespoons of the batter onto the griddle and cook each side until done; 2 to 3 minutes per side.
