These little bite-sized morsels are a snap to make. Traditionally, blinis are made with yeast and left to rise. We simplified the recipe using baking powder and soda. Plus, we added some buckwheat flour to make them a little nuttier. These delicious mini pancakes are the perfect foundation for any topping.
Za’atar is a Turkish blend of seasonings found in most major grocery stores. This dish lends itself to any variety of prepared spice blends if za’atar is not available.
Called the caviar of the lentil family, black beluga lentils are a popular legume grown in parts of Canada. Full of healthy antioxidants and excellent for gut health, lentils are a wonder food and so easy to cook!
Substitute gluten-free for all-purpose flour if you wish. Just be sure your flour mix contains xanthan gum. If it doesn’t, add a generous pinch.
Per serving:
Includes topping.
In fine-meshed sieve, rinse lentils, removing any tiny stones and debris. In small saucepan, bring 2 cups (500 mL) water and 1/4 tsp (1 mL) salt to a boil. Add rinsed lentils. Reduce heat to medium and cook, uncovered, for 15 minutes, or just until lentils are tender but still hold their shape. It’s best to be slightly undercooked. Drain well and transfer to medium-sized bowl. Add red pepper and onion and gently fold together. Set lentils aside to cool while making blinis.
In medium-sized bowl, combine all-purpose and buckwheat flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir to blend. In small bowl, whisk together milk, egg, oil and lemon juice. Add to dry ingredients and stir until smooth.
Line baking sheet with parchment and set aside. Lightly brush large nonstick frying pan with a little oil. Heat pan over medium just until a drop of water bounces when added.
Drop batter, 1 Tbsp (15 mL) at a time, into hot frying pan, leaving space in between. You want batter thin enough so each blini will spread out to about 2 in (5 cm) in diameter as it cooks. If batter appears too thick, whisk in a tiny splash of additional milk.
Cook blini until bubbles form on the surface, about 1 to 2 minutes. Then flip with thin spatula and continue to cook for 1 more minute, until light golden brown. Transfer to lined baking sheet in single layer. Add a piece of parchment between layers as needed. Cover and set aside. Blinis can be refrigerated up to a day.
To serve, top blinis with equal amounts of yogurt, lentil mixture, capers, a pinch of za’atar, and a sprinkling of chives.
Yogurt completely transforms the texture of these chicken thighs, making them tender and flavourful with bright notes of lemon and cilantro. Ideal for a day trip, these can be marinated in the morning and cooked in the evening, but they also work well when cooked in advance and packed for a picnic to be eaten cold. Marinade mentions Marinate chicken thighs for anywhere between 4 and 24 hours. Discard excess marinade that has been in contact with raw chicken. It should not be consumed uncooked.
Citrusy and slightly sour sumac and a touch of maple syrup enliven pickled onions in a perfect complement to this salad. Kale and Napa cabbage stand up for hours to the sweet and puckery dressing, and hearty farro will keep you going while on the road. This salad is sure to be a favourite for picnics, backyard potlucks, or road trip lunch stops. Dressing for dinner This salad stands up well, even while dressed, for up to 4 hours. (Truth be told, I’ve often happily eaten it the next day.) In fact, time helps kale to soften up and become even more delicious. If you’re travelling for a longer period, make the pickled onion dressing as described above: let it stand for about 20 minutes, and then add all the oil and pack it into a separate container so you can finish the salad when you arrive at your destination. The pickled onions are also great with steaks or chicken.
These wraps are perfect for an overnight journey when you want to have something quick and satisfying the next day. Sweet smoked paprika adds just a hint of smoky flavour to sweet potatoes, which join with spinach and red pepper to dress up eggs in a pleasing way. Make these wraps anytime and stick them in the freezer for your next excursion. Pack them frozen and they’ll have time to thaw on the journey, or put them in the fridge the night before you travel so you have something convenient and tasty to eat before you set off. Leave the ketchup bottle behind, and serve them with your own smoky red pepper sauce. Freeze with ease While foil is convenient for freezing and reheating these wraps, to cut down on waste, freeze wraps in a single freezer-proof container. Insert a small piece of parchment between each wrap so they don’t stick together. This will allow you to remove individual wraps easily when you need them.
While sablefish’s texture and fat content stand up admirably to the heat of the grill, this firm fish is also delicious poached. For this recipe, sablefish’s luxurious taste is combined with a light fragrant broth of lemongrass and ginger punctuated with the heat of Thai chili. Sustainability status Sablefish, also known as butterfish or black cod, is a rich and satisfying fish, plentiful in omega-3s and sourced sustainably from the Pacific Northwest. Skin and bones Sablefish has large pin bones. Ideally, your fishmonger will remove them, but if not, before you begin, locate them along the fish’s centreline and, using a pair of needle nose pliers, grasp them firmly to remove. You can leave the skin on for this recipe, which may help the fish hold together a little better while cooking, but it can be tricky to peel the skin away from the cooked fish and discard before plating. I opted to remove the skin first and simply keep a close eye on the cooking time, being careful to remove the fish from the poaching liquid before it flakes apart.