Chesnut blinis
These thick, fluffy mini pancakes are made with fermented batter. You can use just chestnut flour or just buckwheat flour here but I find a 50/50 mix of each delivers both the best texture and the best flavour. A lot of modern recipes have lost the overnight proving stage, which makes for a richer flavour and brings the benefit of easier to digest grains; the batter is much easier to work with too. Do give this more traditional version a go, you’ll love the nutty flavour.
Method
Makes 4-6
Mix the buckwheat and chestnut flours with the cinnamon and a pinch of salt. Whisk in the water and the kombucha until it forms a smooth batter about the consistency of double cream. Cover with mixture with a cloth (or a lid) and let the blini batter rest overnight at room temperature.
Heat the frying pan over a high heat. Gloss the pan with a little butter or oil. Cook the blinis in batches. Drop in 1-2 tablespoon of the batter per blini, spacing them well apart. Lower the heat a little and cook for 2-3 minutes, until golden on the base, then flip over and cook until the underside has a nice touch of colour.
Remove the blinis from the pan and keep them warm in a low oven while you cook the remainder. Any leftover batter can be stored in the fridge for up to 2 days.
Ingredients
100g buckwheat flour
100g chestnut flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
A pinch of sea salt
125ml water
225ml kombucha
A little oil or butter, for cooking