Spiced vegan blini with cucumber and fennel
Mildly spiced buckwheat blini topped with cucumber, fennel and yoghurt are just the thing with a glass of bubbles, and just in time for party season.
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Servings: 50 blini
Calories: 38kcal
Ingredients
For the blini:
- 1 ½ cups milk, of your choice (I used cashew milk)
- 1 teaspoon active instant yeast
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
- 1 cup buckwheat flour
- ⅔ cup white rice flour
- 2 tablespoon melted buttery spread, (see recipe notes)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoon mild curry powder
- 3 tablespoon aquafaba, (liquid from a can of chickpeas)
- Oil for frying
For the topping:
- 1 cucumber
- 1 cup coconut yoghurt
- 2 tablespoon very finely chopped red onion, or shallot
- 2 tablespoon finely chopped fennel fronds, plus extra fennel fronds to garnish
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 lemon
Instructions
For the blini:
- Use a microwave or saucepan to warm the plant milk up to blood temperature. Stir in the yeast and set aside for 5-10 minutes for the yeast to dissolve and begin to bloom.
- Toast fennel and coriander seeds in a dry frypan for a few minutes, until fragrant. Grind in a spice grinder or mortar and pestle.
- Measure flours, salt and baking powder into a large mixing bowl. Add the ground spices and curry powder. Stir the melted buttery spread into the milk and yeast mixture, then add to the dry ingredients and whisk until smooth. Cover the bowl and set aside in a warm place for 1-2 hours, until the batter has increased in size and you can see yeast activity going on (bubbles on the surface).
- Whip aquafaba until soft peaks form, then gently fold through the blini batter.
- Heat a frypan (skillet) over medium heat and add a little cooking oil to coat the surface. Spoon teaspoonfuls of batter into the pan, using the back of the spoon to gently shape the blini batter into rounds. Cook for 1-2 minutes on each side, until just golden. Be careful not to overcook them, they don't take long. By the time I had finished spooning batter into the pan, the first blini was ready to flip. Remove cooked blini to a baking tray and repeat in batches until all the batter has been cooked. Pro tip: A bread and butter knife is easier to use than a full sized spatula for flipping these small blini.
- If making ahead of time, let cool then store in an airtight container.
For the topping:
- Cut the cucumber into small dice. I did this by slicing the cucumber lengthwise, cutting away and discarding the seeds, then dicing the remainder of the slices. In total you want about two cups of small diced cucumber.
- In a mixing bowl, combine the cucumber, coconut yoghurt, red onion or shallot, fennel and salt.
- If using, slice the lemon to create tiny segments. I did this by slicing the lemon into 5mm rounds, then cutting between the membranes to create tiny segments of lemon flesh and rind.
- Top each blini with a small spoonful of yoghurt topping, fennel fronds and a tiny segment of lemon.
Notes
- I used Olivani, an olive oil based buttery spread.
- Recipe makes approximately 50 blini.
- Nutrition information is estimate, per blini, and does not include oil for frying - you decide how much you'd like to use.
Nutrition information
Calories: 38kcal | Carbohydrates: 4g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Sodium: 56mg | Potassium: 51mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 35IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 6mg | Iron: 1mg
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