Blini With Caviar

Photo: flickr user secretlondon123

Ingredients

1 pound boiling potatoes, preferably Yukon Gold

2 tablespoons flour

2 tablespoons creme fraiche, room temperature

2 eggs

1 egg yolk

coarse salt, to taste

freshly-ground white pepper, to taste

1 ounce sevruga caviar, or to taste

Preparation

Place potatoes in pot, cover by 2 inches with cold water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer and cook until tender, about 25 minutes. Drain. While still warm, peel potatoes and pass them through tamis (a drum sieve).

Weigh out 9 ounces of resulting puree (about 1 3/4 cups, packed). Working quickly, whisk flour into potatoes, then whisk in creme fraiche. Add 1 egg, whisking batter until smooth. Add second egg, and then yolk, whisking until smooth. Batter should fall from whisk in thick stream but hold its shape. Add a little more creme fraiche if batter is too thick. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Heat nonstick pan over medium-low heat. Spoon 1/2 tablespoon of batter into skillet for small blini, more for larger blini as desired. Cook 2 minutes, flip and continue cooking another minute or until done. Blini should be golden brown. Keep warm while you make successive batches. Serve immediately, topped each with a dollop of caviar.