Serves 6 as a starter

A blini batter is usually made with buckwheat flour and yeast, but here’s a lighter version using all wheat flour with an added crunch of sweetcorn. The mini pancakes make a lovely starter served with an aubergine pâté and tomato quarters, or for a more simple serving top with chive-flavoured crème fraîche and maybe some snipped crispy bacon.

15g fresh yeast (or 2 tsp easy-blend dried yeast see below)
100ml milk, heated until tepid
100g strong plain flour
¼ tsp fine sea salt
1 free-range egg yolk
2 tbsp beer
2 free-range egg whites
200g can sweetcorn kernels, drained
Olive oil for frying

1 If using fresh yeast, crumble this into a jug with the tepid milk and whisk or beat until dissolved.
2 Mix the flour and salt in a large bowl, standing on a damp cloth to hold it steady. Make a well in the centre and add the egg yolk and half the yeast mixture. Beat to a thick batter with a whisk, gradually adding the rest of the yeasty milk and the beer.
3 Cover with clingfilm and leave in a warm spot for about an hour or until bubbles start to appear and the mixture looks as if it is growing - it is! Alternatively, keep the batter in the fridge if you want a slow rise batter. It will take about 4 hours to bubble.
4 Beat the egg whites to a soft peak stage, then fold in to the batter using the whisk along with the sweetcorn.
5 Pour a thin film of oil into a heavy-based nonstick frying pan and heat until you can feel a strong heat rising. Spoon dessertspoons of batter into the pan and cook on a medium heat until the underside begins to brown and the tops look lightly set. Loosen with a palette knife and flip over, and cook for a minute on the other side.
6 Repeat with the remaining mixture, stacking the pancakes under a clean tea towel to keep warm.

To use easy-blend yeast, simply mix the granules straight into flour with the salt and beat in the tepid milk with the yolk and beer as above. Do not mix easy-blend yeast on its own with liquid or it won’t rise.

Aubergine Pâté
Serves 6

Make this ahead and cool. For the tomatoes, simply dip some plum tomatoes into boiling water for half a minute to loosen the skins. Peel, quarter and remove the seeds and pulp.

1 medium-sized aubergine
1 tsp coarse salt
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 sprig fresh rosemary
Extra-virgin olive oil, to mix
Squeeze of fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp chopped fresh coriander or parsley
Freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oven to 200C/Gas 6. Halve the aubergine and score the flesh in crosses. Sprinkle with the salt and garlic. Sandwich together with the rosemary in the centre and wrap well in foil. Bake for 40-45 minutes until the aubergine has collapsed. Cool and unwrap, tipping any juices into a bowl. Scrape out the soft flesh into the bowl and mash with a fork adding oil, lemon juice and extra seasoning to taste, then stir in the herbs. Spoon into a small bowl to serve and put the tomato quarters in another.

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