Tasty, and good for you too!

T

he 1884 Shrovetide lunch offered by Moscow Governor and Grand Prince Sergei Alexandrovich started off with Bliny and Bliny Raznye (“assorted bliny”). Bliny, the famous Russian pancakes linked to the pre-Lenten festival of Maslenitsa, are like genuine Russian vodka: both come in many varieties, flavors, and colors.  Not only Moscow governors, but Moscow housewives also make assorted bliny, as reflected in Russian folklore:

This week, as we followed

The ancient tradition

We saw bliny of all kinds

Rising and baking

Regular bliny are made with plain wheat flour. But a favorite variation is made with buckwheat flour. Darker and more nutritious, buckwheat (grechnevye) bliny elicit nostalgia—what Russian has not been stuffed full of buckwheat kasha (porridge) by his or her babushka or mother? Buckwheat is also very rich in useful minerals—not the least of which is iron. Since we always try to combine the useful with the pleasurable, we offer this recipe for iron-rich buckwheat bliny, which you can slather with lots of butter—after all, you’re supposed to live it up during Maslenitsa! 

Ingredients

4 cups whole milk

1 package active dry yeast

2 cups buckwheat flour

2 cups all-purpose flour

3 eggs, separated, at room temperature

2 tbsp butter, melted, at room temperature 

1 tbsp sugar

1 tsp. salt

1/2 cup heavy cream

In a saucepan, heat 2 cups of the milk to lukewarm and transfer to a large bowl. Dissolve the yeast in the warm milk, then stir in the buckwheat flour, mixing well.  This is the sponge. Cover and leave to rise in a warm place for 1 hour.  Heat the remaining milk to lukewarm and stir it into the batter along with the all-purpose flour. Cover and leave in a warm place for 2 hours, until risen.

Lightly beat the egg yolks with the melted butter.  Stir in the sugar and salt, then gently fold this mixture into the risen batter.

Whip the cream until soft peaks form. Beat the egg whites until stiff. Gently fold the beaten cream and egg whites into the batter, then leave to stand in a warm place for 15-20 minutes. Do not stir.

Bliny are best when cooked on a thick, well-greased cast-iron skillet or griddle. Cook as you would any pancake, using about 1/4 cup batter per blin (each should be about four inches in diameter). Gently scoop the batter from the top of the bowl, being careful not to deflate it, and quickly spread it in the pan.  

Don’t worry if the first pancake is a bit messy. As the saying goes, “Pervy blin da komom” (the first blin is lumpy), which means it ought to be “disposed of” properly by the cook ...

Serve with sour cream and caviar, smoked fish, chopped boiled eggs, minced onions or, for a Russian-American touch, maple syrup.

Makes two dozen four-inch pancakes, enough to serve 6-8 (although the writer Nikolai Gogol noted that one normally eats 15 bliny at a sitting—unless, of course, one is hungry.)

Photo and recipe courtesy Red Square restaurant, Moscow.