IMBB#14 - Nori and Buckwheat Blinis with Ikura and Tobiko with Wasabi Crème Fraîche

Orange. This month's theme by Foodgoat of "Orange you hungry?" for Is My Blog Burning? #14 nabbed my attention because orange is my favourite colour. I can't say if the colour's link with schizophrenia go further than anecdotal but it's hard not to feel some kind of disconnect with reality as we see the gains of the last century being frittered away and the kitchen.. what's that Mr Smeg? I should go on? Very well.



Ikura (salmon roe) are spherical wonders. The pleasure of the translucent orange and the glossy sheen is matched only by the slight resistance to the bite of the membrane before it releases the amniotic fluids. They are like Paul Smith cuff-links in bubble wrap. Tobiko (flying fish roe) is nearly as pretty but has a grittier texture. I would have been happy just to pop them on a spoon, take a piccie and be done with it but since I've cooked about three things in as many weeks, I'd best do the thing with heat.

Blinis are fine slavic treats to have with roe and I've been feeling very slavic of late, no idea why. They are yeasty pikelets for people with too much time on their hands. I would adapt them by using buckwheat as a Japanese influence (it's what's in soba noodles) but soon find a recipe with buckwheat already in it. Nori then.

Blini Mix

1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast; 1 cup milk (warmed); 1 cup all purpose flour; 1 cup buckwheat flour; 3 free-range eggs; 1 teaspoon salt; 1/2 cup milk.

Let the yeast dissolve in with the luke-warm milk and them mix in it with the flour. Cover with a tea-towel and leave in a warm place for two hours. Punch it down and then mix in the egg yolks and the rest of the milk. It should be smooth, but still light. Add the salt to the egg whites and beat to stiff peaks and fold into the mix.

The nori was three toasted sheets rolled together and cut into narrow strips with kitchen scissors and then mixed in. From here you need a blini pan but as I don't have one, I used a biscuit cutter as a mould. Browned a little on both sides, you could see the thin strips of nori just below the surface.



To stop the roe rolling off, I bought some King Island Crème Fraîche. The intention was to blend it with uni (sea urchin). No luck getting any so I thought I'd try just a sprinkle of wasabi powder and mix it in. Unwilling to gamble completely on this taste combination, I made a trio of wasabi, plain, and mixed wiith the tobiko. Finally I thinly sliced up some sashimi salmon for extra orange credentials and because it's nice to eat and added some garnish of orange rind.

The eating was simplicity and the verdict is pleasant and interesting. Neither the nori or the wasabi overwhelmed but perhaps needing a splash of something citric or a nice bottle of a dry sparkling white. Yes.

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That was quick:Foodgoat ... something tasty every day: Is My Blog Burning #14: Hot Orange on Orange Action!!