Parsnip blinis, Cropwell Bishop, walnuts and honey
This is a strong contender to challenge the king of festive finger-food, blinis and smoked salmon. This is inspired by a salad of honeyed parsnips, blue cheese and walnuts that often appears on our Riverford Field Kitchen menu during the colder and darker months. It is a classic blini recipe, replacing one root vegetable with another.
Ingredients
- 3 large parsnips
- 2 large eggs, separated into yolks and whites
- 1 tbsp rice flour
- 30ml crème fraîche
- 30ml milk
- butter and olive oil
- 100g Cropwell Bishop or another blue cheese
- handful walnut halves, toasted
- 1 tbsp honey
- salt and pepper
Method
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Step 1
Chop the parsnips into ½ inch chunks, removing any bits of core that feel woody. Sauté gently in a pan of butter and olive oil until nice and soft. Purée in a food processor, season with salt and pepper, leave to cool in the fridge.
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Step 2
Mix the egg yolks, rice flour, cream and milk with the parsnip purée. Whip the egg whites until they form soft peaks. Fold the egg whites gently into the parsnip mix trying, to preserve a much air as you can.
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Step 3
Heat a frying pan of olive oil and butter until the butter starts to foam. Drop a few spoonfuls of the mix into the pan, smoothing each in to a 2-3 inch disc. Cook until golden brown on one side and flip over to finish the other. Cook in batches.
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Step 4
To serve, top with some crumbled blue cheese, mix the walnuts into the honey and pop one on top. These blinis can be cooked and frozen well ahead of time. Defrost and warm through in a low pan or oven to refresh.