These little yeasted buckwheat and flour pancakes have a deliciously light texture. They can be found throughout Eastern Europe in various forms. The best thing about blini is what they are accompanied by. They are a traditional foil for caviar and salmon roe — these days, as sturgeon roe is all but unavailable and not terribly ethical, I have been using lumpfish caviar and find it a pleasant enough substitute. Typically, these are served with crème fraîche (or sour cream), finely diced onion or shallots, hard-boiled eggs (these are delicious if you separate the whites from the yolks and push each separately through a fine wire strainer to make egg mimosa), and finely chopped dill or parsley. They also go very well with smoked or cured salmon or trout. If you are intrepid and don’t mind preparing things at the last minute, they make a spectacular canapé, but make small ones using only 1 teaspoon of batter.