Smoked Salmon Blinis

Very gently warm milk in a jug in the microwave in 10 second bursts or in a small saucepan set over a low heat until lukewarm. Pour into a large bowl. Sieve in the plain flour, add the fast action dried yeast and whisk together to make a smooth paste. Cover with a clean tea towel and leave to ferment for 1 hr.

After 1 hr very finely chop most of the chives and separate the egg. Add the yolk to the fermented flour paste (putting the white into a medium clean bowl), along with the finely chopped chives and remaining milk. Sieve in the remaining plain flour and add a big pinch of salt. Whisk briefly to combine.

Clean the whisk you are using then whisk the egg whites until they are white, fluffy and holding their shape. Working in batches, use a metal spoon to fold the egg whites into the blini batter in a figure of eight motion, trying to keep as much air as possible in the batter itself. Once all the egg whites are incorporated, re-cover with the tea towel and leave for 30 mins for the batter to get super bubbly.

Meanwhile, mix the crème fraîche with the horseradish, the zest and juice of half the lemon and season with salt and lots of black pepper, to taste. Cut the remaining half lemon into small wedges to serve. Cut the smoked salmon into long thin strips, then use your fingers to curl the strips into little rosettes to go on top of each blini.

Melt a quarter of the butter in a large non-stick frying pan set over a medium heat and use a piece of kitchen paper to spread the butter across the entire pan.

Spoon heaped teaspoons of the blini mixture into the pan, leaving enough space between each one to allow for spreading. Cook for a minute or so, until the sides are set and the top is super bubbly, then flip and continue cooking for a further minute on the second side. The blinis should be light, fluffy and nicely golden.

Continue cooking all the blinis, top with the horseradish crème fraîche and smoked salmon, then snip over the remaining chives and serve with the lemon wedges for squeezing. Enjoy.