Waltraut's Sweet Breakfast Blini

5 from 1 ratings

The best celebrations end with breakfast the next morning. Blini are thin pancakes, much like crepes, and can be used in sweet or savory dishes. This is a sweet blini recipe, perfect for the breakfast after your Roma & Traveller History shindig, but if you want to make it a savory dish, just omit the sugar and fill your blini with meat, cheese, egg, vegetables… whatever you fancy. This is recipe is from my wonderful grandmother, Waltraut, who changed her name to “Christa” when she came to the USA because no one could pronounce Waltraut and everyone kept calling her “Walnut.” She was having none of that. My grandmother and I like to make up huge batches of these blini for Sunday morning breakfasts with an impressive “fill your own blina” buffet-style array of fruits and berries plus yogurt, sour cream, whipped cream, maple syrup, and brown sugar for the filling. Enjoy with sunshine, family, friends, and strong coffee. Or if you want to get nomad-traditional, whip up some Muterdo šax (dandelion ‘coffee’) to accompany your blini breakfast feast. Read How to Eat Like a Real Gypsy here

Servings

servings

Ingredients

6 eggs
3 cup milk
3 tablespoon rapeseed, veggie, or sunflower oil
1 ½ cup flour, sifted (if you like thinner blini use less flour. if you like thicker, add more)
1 tablespoon sugar
dash of salt

Directions

Filling of your choice; We love strawberries, blackberries, bananas, raspberries, blueberries, diced peaches or nectarines, sour cream, whipped cream, almond butter, yogurt, brown sugar, honey, and maple syrup (we live in New Hampshire. Maple syrup is non-negotiable).
In a bowl, beat the eggs and milk until smooth.
Stir in the oil.
Sift the flour into the mixture and stir well.
Let the mixture sit for a few minutes while you heat up the skillet (a small, cast iron skillet works best) with a little bit of oil on medium heat. While the mixture sits, the flour will absorb more oil and make it easier to break up the lumps.
Then stir in the sugar and salt until fully combined.
Once the oil in the skillet is sizzling, ladle in enough batter to form a small pancake. You’ll know it’s time to turn the blina over when tiny bubbles start forming in the middle. My grandmother and I got into the habit of using chopsticks to do this, but you can use a spatula, or you can flip the blina in the skillet like a pro chef. I think I’ve done that, like, three times without ruining everything. The blina should be lightly browned on each side, a little crispy, but still soft.
Stack the blini on a plate covered with a clean cloth to keep the heat in until you’re ready to serve them.
It’s more fun to serve these buffet-style so you can let everyone design their own blina.