Source: Brent Hofacker, AdobeStockMaslenitsa (Shrovetide) is a time for fun, relaxation, sunshine, and lavish feasts! Of course, it's primarily about delicious blini, but not blini alone. We've gathered a collection of various treats that will delight your whole family and dear guests!
1. Zucchini and Feta Blini
Source: postila.ruClassic blini are not the only suitable option for Maslenitsa.
You will need: 500 g zucchini, 100 g feta, 2-3 eggs, 5-6 tbsp flour, herbs, salt, spices.
Preparation: Grate the zucchini, salt it, let it sit for half an hour, then drain the excess juice. Add crumbled feta, chopped herbs, eggs, and spices, mix, and gradually incorporate the flour into the batter. Fry the blini until golden on a greased pan.
2. Blini Rolls
Source: cookpad.comAn unusual appetizer combining Russian and Asian culinary traditions.
You will need: 15 blini, 500 g potatoes, 300 g lightly salted red fish or salted herring, 50 g red caviar, 1 tbsp sour cream, 50 g butter, 1 bunch dill.
Preparation: Boil and mash potatoes with butter and sour cream. Slice the salted fish into strips. Spread blini with mashed potatoes, layer fish and herbs, roll everything up, and slice with a sharp knife.
3. Chicken Blini
Source: dzen.ruExcellent with any thick sauce, for example – mushroom sauce.
You will need: 1 chicken fillet, 1-2 eggs, 100 ml milk, 1 tbsp sour cream, 1.5 tbsp semolina, salt, spices.
Preparation: Pass the chicken fillet through a meat grinder, mix with all other ingredients, and let the mince sit for 15 minutes. If it's too thick, dilute with milk. Fry like regular blini on a lightly greased pan, about 1.5 minutes per side.
4. Baked Nalesniki with Cottage Cheese
Source: mirtesen.ruEven tastier than plain nalesniki – thanks to the topping.
You will need: 12-16 blini, 400 g cottage cheese, 1 egg, 1 egg yolk, 200 g sour cream, 1 tbsp flour, 5 tbsp sugar, vanilla.
Preparation: Thoroughly mix cottage cheese with egg yolk, half the sugar, and vanilla. Wrap the filling in blini, trim the edges, and arrange the rolls in a greased ovenproof dish. Whisk sour cream with egg, flour, and the remaining sugar, then pour this mixture over the blini. Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden in the oven at 180 degrees Celsius.
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5. Blini Cake with Cherries and Sour Cream Frosting
Source: delo-vcusa.ruThe perfect Maslenitsa dessert, and it's incredibly easy to make!
You will need: 15 blini, 500 g full-fat sour cream, 400 g pitted cherries, 5 tbsp powdered sugar, chocolate topping.
Preparation: Whip sour cream with powdered sugar until fluffy using a mixer. Thaw cherries and drain excess juice. Arrange cherries in a line on the blini and roll them up.
Place five rolls on a plate and generously spread with sour cream frosting. Place another 4 rolls on top, spread again – and continue building the pyramid until only one roll remains at the top. Cover the entire cake with frosting and drizzle with chocolate topping.
6. Fluffy Japanese Pancakes
Source: postila.ruIn Japan, they are called "hotto keki" – from "hot cake".
You will need: 200 ml milk, 6 tbsp thick yogurt, 2 eggs, 300-350 g flour, 2 tbsp baking powder, 2 tbsp sugar, 1 pinch salt.
Preparation: Whisk milk, sugar, salt, eggs, and yogurt. Sift the flour with baking powder in one go and mix the batter. Important: stir minimally – 10-15 times, and the batter should remain lumpy. Lightly grease a heated pan with oil.
Pour the batter from a height of about 30 cm, and the pancake should be slightly larger than an oladya (small thick pancake). As soon as the edges set but the middle remains liquid, flip the pancake. To do this, carefully lift it and drop it from a height of about 30 cm. Cook the pancakes until done under a lid – about 3 minutes.
7. Baked Blini with Chicken and Bell Pepper
Source: furshetnadom.ruYou might need more or fewer blini – adjust as you go.
You will need: 15 blini, 1 chicken fillet, 2 bell peppers, 100 g canned corn, 150 g sour cream, yogurt or cream cheese, herbs, toast cheese, salt, spices.
Preparation: Bake chicken fillet and bell pepper in foil until cooked – 20-25 minutes in the oven at 200 degrees Celsius. Transfer the pepper to a bag, let it cool, and peel. Then chop the pepper, chicken, and herbs, add corn and half of the sour cream, season, and mix the filling.
Wrap the filling in blini into square envelopes, place them in a baking dish, and spread with the remaining sour cream. Top with a slice of toast cheese and bake for 15-20 minutes in the oven at 180 degrees Celsius.
8. Malay Lace Pancakes
Source: postila.ruThese pancakes are called "roti jala" and are made with coconut milk and curry.
You will need: 400 ml coconut milk, 2 eggs, 250 g flour, 4 tsp curry, 2 tsp turmeric, salt.
Preparation: Mix all dry ingredients, pour in coconut milk, and thoroughly combine. Add eggs and mix thoroughly again. Pour the batter into a plastic bottle and close with a cap that has a hole. For convenience, you can insert a piece of a drinking straw into the hole.
Heat a greased pan and pour a portion of the batter, drawing thin patterns through the straw. The pancake should not be solid – it will be lace-like or a whimsical flower. Fry the pancakes as usual – about 1-2 minutes per side. Traditionally, roti jala are folded into a triangle when served.
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9. Crepeville with Peaches
Source: rutube.ruA delicious French crepe cake with a fruit layer.
You will need: 2.5 cups 10% cream, 2 eggs, 1 cup flour, 2 tbsp butter, 8 canned peaches, 1 cup sour cream, 100-150 g chocolate, 4 tbsp sugar, 1 pinch salt, nuts.
Preparation: Whisk 2 cups cream, eggs, flour, 1 tbsp sugar, salt, and melted butter until smooth. Fry thin blini – you'll need about 12. Whip sour cream and the remaining sugar with a mixer until fluffy.
Melt chocolate in the remaining cream and separately blend peach pulp. Assemble the cake with blini, spreading them with cream. Alternate layers – sour cream, peach puree, chocolate. Cover the finished cake with chocolate cream and sprinkle with chopped nuts.
10. Blini Envelopes with Minced Meat and Cabbage
Source: cookpad.comA quick and easy alternative to fried pies.
You will need: 250 ml milk, 125 g flour, 1 egg, 2.5 g dry yeast, 100 g minced meat, 100 g cabbage, 1/2 carrot, 1/2 onion, vegetable oil, salt, sugar, spices.
Preparation: Mix flour, dry yeast, a little sugar with salt, add egg, a spoonful of vegetable oil, and slightly warm milk. Thoroughly knead the dough, cover with cling film, and leave it in a warm place while preparing the filling.
Chop and fry vegetables for 7-10 minutes until soft. Add minced meat, season, and cook the filling until done, then let it cool. Ladle a portion of batter onto the pan. When it slightly sets, place the filling on half of the blini and cover with the other half. Fry the envelopes on both sides.
11. Chicken Pie with Puff Pastry
Source: semishagoff.orgLight and accessible baking, understandable even for beginner cooks.
You will need: 1 kg puff pastry, 2 chicken fillets, 8 potatoes, 2 onions, spices.
Preparation: Roll out half of the puff pastry onto a baking sheet. Layer potato slices on top, season, and add a third of the onion rings. Then arrange finely chopped chicken fillet, season again, and sprinkle with the remaining onion. Cover with the second layer of pastry, pinch the edges, and bake the chicken pie for 45-60 minutes in the oven at 180 degrees Celsius.
12. Baked Mackerel
Source: mirtesen.ruA wonderful main course for Maslenitsa – hearty and not at all heavy.
You will need: 2 mackerel, 3 onions, 100 g full-fat sour cream, 1 tsp grainy mustard, 1 tsp hot mustard, 1 tbsp soy sauce, salt, spices.
Preparation: Mix sour cream, two types of mustard, soy sauce, and spices. Slice onions into rings and combine with the sauce. Cut the gutted fish into serving pieces and marinate them for half an hour in the onion mixture. Then transfer the onion to an ovenproof dish, place the mackerel on top, and spread everything with the remaining marinade. Bake for 30 minutes in the oven at 180 degrees Celsius.
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13. Chocolate Blini Rolls
Source: cookpad.comBefore serving, slice them into individual portions and decorate to taste.
You will need: 400 ml milk, 2 eggs, 4 tbsp flour, 2 tbsp cocoa, 4 tsp sugar, 2 tbsp vegetable oil, 200 g butter, 200 g condensed milk.
Preparation: Whisk milk, eggs, vegetable oil, flour, cocoa, and sugar until smooth. All ingredients should be at room temperature. Fry the blini until done and arrange them in groups of three, overlapping each other. Whip butter with condensed milk until fluffy using a mixer, spread on the blini, and roll them up. Refrigerate for several hours.
14. Liver Blini with Korean Carrots
Source: rutube.ruLiver lovers will definitely enjoy this recipe!
You will need: 250 g chicken liver, 100 ml milk, 1/2 onion, 1 egg, 1.5 tbsp flour, 100 g processed cheese, 80 g Korean carrots, 1 boiled egg, 2 tbsp mayonnaise, herbs, salt, spices.
Preparation: Blend liver with onion until smooth, add egg and milk, and blend again. Sift in flour with spices, thoroughly mix the batter, and fry thin blini on a greased pan.
Grate processed cheese and boiled egg on a fine grater. Chop herbs, mix them with Korean carrots and mayonnaise. Spread the blini with the resulting filling and roll them up or fold into envelopes.
15. Cottage Cheese Doughnuts
Source: postila.ruServe them with tea during Maslenitsa week – your family will be delighted.
You will need: 500 g cottage cheese, 4 eggs, 200 g sugar, 600 g flour, 2 tsp baking soda, salt.
Preparation: Whip eggs with sugar using a mixer, add cottage cheese, salt, and baking soda, and mix thoroughly. Sift in flour and mix again. Divide the dough into portions, roll each into a 5-7 mm thick sheet, and cut out doughnuts using any convenient method. Fry them until golden in plenty of oil, then you can sprinkle with powdered sugar.
16. Savory Blini Cake with Herring Pâté
Source: vsvoemdome.ruIf desired, use any other ready-made pâté instead of the filling.
You will need: 10-12 blini, 250 g herring fillet, 1 onion, 1 carrot, 2 eggs, 150 g cream cheese, 2 tbsp sour cream, herbs, spices.
Preparation: Boil eggs and carrots until cooked, and chop and fry the onion until golden. Blend everything until smooth, then mix with cream cheese, sour cream, herbs, and spices. Spread this mixture on the cooked blini and assemble the cake.
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17. Vareniki with Potatoes
Source: torgvelesmeat.ruOne of the most popular dishes for Maslenitsa. Serve them with fried onions and sour cream.
You will need: 200 ml milk, 2 eggs, 500-600 g flour, 1 kg potatoes, 2 onions, 100 g butter, 4 tbsp vegetable oil, 1 tsp salt, spices.
Preparation: Knead a smooth, firm dough from milk, eggs, vegetable oil, flour, and salt. Let it rest for half an hour. Boil potatoes until cooked and mash them with butter.
Chop and fry onions until golden, mix them with potatoes, season, and cool the filling. Roll out and cut the dough into circles, place the filling on them, and form vareniki. Boil vareniki in salted boiling water for 3 minutes after they float to the surface.
18. Vegetable Salad with Corn and Beans
Source: mirtesen.ruA vibrant and delicious salad to diversify your dough-based dishes.
You will need: 2 cans canned corn, 2 cans canned red beans, 2 bell peppers, 4 tomatoes, 2 purple onions, 1 bunch cilantro, olive oil, lemon juice, spices.
Preparation: Roughly chop the vegetables, finely chop cilantro, and add corn and beans. Dress the salad with olive oil, lemon juice, and spices.
19. Norwegian Potato Pancakes
Source: lifehacker.ruAn interesting Maslenitsa recipe – simple and unusual at the same time.
You will need: 300 g potatoes, 100 ml cream, 100 g flour, 2 tbsp vegetable oil, 50 g butter, 0.5 tsp salt, 0.5 tsp sugar.
Preparation: Boil and mash potatoes into a puree. Mix it with cream, salt, sugar, 1 tbsp vegetable oil, and flour until smooth. Divide the dough into portions and place in the freezer for 15 minutes.
Then roll out, fry the flatbreads on the remaining vegetable oil on each side, and spread with butter. Traditionally, these pancakes are served warm with jam, sprinkled with ground cinnamon.
20. Cabbage Salad with Carrots
Source: bonfit.ruA very quick salad with a light yogurt dressing.
You will need: 1/2 head white cabbage, 2 carrots, 1 bunch herbs, 300 g Greek yogurt, 4 tbsp apple cider vinegar, 2 tbsp lemon juice, 4 tbsp honey, 2 tsp mustard, salt, spices.
Preparation: Shred the cabbage, chop the herbs, and grate the carrots on a Korean grater. Mix yogurt and the remaining ingredients for the dressing, and dress the salad with it. Done!