Christmas starter: Thomasina Miers' recipe for buckwheat blinis with ricotta and salmon

A delicious festive starter that can be adapted to serve with a sweet topping for the kids
Meera Sodha’s vegan Christmas starter of kimchi gyoza

Buckwheat blinis with lemon ricotta and smoked salmon or trout

Smoked trout is a delicious alternative to smoked salmon. These blinis are a lovely way to top or tail Christmas Day, and children can opt for a ricotta, lemon zest and maple topping, if they are squeamish about the fish.

Prep 45 min
Rest 2 hr
Cook 10 min
Serves 6

75g buckwheat flour
75g strong white flour
Salt and pepper
150ml milk
3g dried yeast
2 eggs, separated
100g creme fraiche or soured cream
Zest of 1 lemon
250g ricotta
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
30g butter

To serve
100g organic or wild smoked salmon or trout (I like Pished Fish), sliced
Chopped chives
Lumpfish or salmon caviar (optional)

Sift the flours and a teaspoon of salt into a large bowl and make a well in the middle. Bring the milk to simmering point in a small pan over a medium heat, then remove from the heat and whisk in the yeast, egg yolks and creme fraiche. Pour slowly into the flour, beating it in bit by bit with a wooden spoon. When the batter is smooth, cover and leave in a warm place for 30-60 minutes, to prove (depending on how much time you have).

Beat the egg whites to soft peaks in a clean bowl, then fold into the batter with a metal spoon. Leave for another 30-60 minutes to prove again. Meanwhile, add the lemon zest to the ricotta and stir in the oil. Cut the lemon into wedges and season the ricotta with a squeeze of juice from one of the wedges, along with some salt and pepper.

When you’re ready to eat, heat a large frying pan on a medium-high heat until smoking hot. Add the butter, then teaspoons of the batter, and cook until bubbles appear. Flip over and cook for another minute or so on the other side, until golden. Cook in batches, keeping the cooked ones warm in a low oven.

Serve the pancakes warm with a dollop of ricotta, a few slices of trout or salmon, a sprinkle of chives, a little caviar and lemon wedges. Alternatively, if you have children with a sweet tooth, whip half the ricotta with a little sugar instead of salt, and serve with runny honey or maple syrup instead of the salmon.

Fiona Beckett’s drinks match

My first thought was to recommend iced vodka shots, but that’s more New Year’s Eve than Christmas Day. Fizz is an option (see here for my festive recommendations), but a good sauvignon blanc would be even better. Waitrose has a well-priced Hauts de Perrière Pouilly-Fumé 2018 (12.5%) from the Loire in its current 10-at-£10 promotion. FB

⁃ The Guardian aims to publish recipes for sustainable fish. For ratings in your region, check: UK; Australia; US.

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