Best Potato Blinis Recipes

POTATO BLINIS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425°F. Prick potatoes all over with a fork and bake on a rimmed baking sheet until very tender and a knife slides easily through flesh, 60-70 minutes. Let cool slightly. Reduce oven temperature to 200°F.
• Meanwhile, whisk egg yolks, egg, and sour cream in a medium bowl to combine; set sour cream mixture aside.
• Cut potatoes in half lengthwise and scoop flesh from skins; discard skins. Pass flesh through food mill or ricer fitted with the small-hole disk into a large bowl. Working quickly, sprinkle flour, salt, pepper, baking soda, and nutmeg over potatoes; toss lightly with a fork to distribute ingredients, fluff potatoes, and break up any clumps. Make a well in the center and pour in reserved sour cream mixture. Whisk in a circular motion, working from the center out to incorporate, just until smooth (it should look like a thick pancake batter). Cover; let sit 10 minutes.
• Heat a large skillet, preferably nonstick or cast iron, over medium-low. Brush skillet with a thin layer of butter. Spoon scant tablespoonfuls of batter into skillet, spacing about 1" apart. Cook blinis until undersides are golden brown and surfaces look matte and bubbles form on top, about 90 seconds. Gently flip and cook until other sides are golden brown, about 1 minute. Transfer to a wire rack set inside a rimmed baking sheet and keep warm until ready to serve (up to 1 hour before). Repeat with remaining batter, wiping out skillet between batches and brushing with more butter.

POTATO BLINIS - LITHUANIAN.

Steps:

• Grate the potatoes on the star pattern of your grater, so it comes out looking like a sort of paste.
• Stir in the salt, then start making a well in the mix with a large spoon, removing as much water as possible.
• When you are fed up with this procedure, mix in the egg. At this stage you may want to add a spoonful of flour (plain) or cornflour, but try to resist as it alters the taste of the blini. A spoon of potato flour or starch would be better, but nothing at all is really necessary.
• Add oil and butter to a hot pan, put spoonsful of mixture - 1 spoon per blini - and cook until golden, turn and cook the other side until golden. Place on a platter, covered, in a warm oven to keep warm until the rest of the mixture is cooked.
• My mother-in-law has always served these with several side dishes of quartered tomatoes, sliced lengthwise cucumbers both fresh and pickled (Polski Ogorki), sour cream, caviar, as either an entree or a main, depending upon how many pounds of potatoes used and how keen you are.

SWEET POTATO BLINIS WITH CURED SALMON, CREME FRAICHE, AND CAVIAR

Steps:

• Place prepared sweet potatoes in a medium saucepan and cover with water. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil, and cook until the potatoes are tender and can be mashed easily with a fork. Drain well and return to the saucepan. Add the honey and 4 tablespoons of the butter and mash until smooth. If possible, puree this mixture in food mill. In a small bowl, combine the milk and eggs and stir in the sweet potato puree. In another bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, salt and cayenne. Add the dry ingredients to the sweet potatoes and stir until just blended.
• Melt the remaining butter and reserve. Heat non-stick skillets over medium-heat and coat with some of melted butter. Drop sweet potato mixture into skillets in 1 1/2-tablespoon amounts. Turn once, cooking until golden and crisp, about 1 minute per side. Transfer to a large baking sheet. Repeat the process with the remaining butter and batter. The pancakes can stand at room temperature for 2 hours. Reheat in a 325 degree F. oven for 5 minutes before serving.
• To serve, arrange 3 blinis on a plate and garnish each with a slice of cured salmon, a dollop of creme fraiche and a small spoonful of caviar.

BLINIS (POTATO PANCAKES), MARK'S

Steps:

• Peel and grate the potatoes and onions Mix all other ingredients together Let stand 15 minutes or so to let the baking powder work. Scoop up the mix in a ball about 2 inches round and deep fry. Serve sprinkled with vinegar.
• Notes: Some folks like their blini flat and pan fried, if so, omit the vinegar and baking powder. But I think the fluffier consistency of the deep fried version is worth the effort. This is a version of what our Jewish neighbors called latke, but they generally prepare them flat. Note: In the Ukraine and Russia, blinis are made from regular wheat flour and the higher class folk served theirs with caviar.