These veggie bites make the perfect fingerfood for New Year’s Eve or any other festive occasion. The mini pancakes (blinis) are made with peas, to give them a pretty green colour. And then they are topped with a minty crème fraîche. Easy to prepare ahead and lovely with these yummy mint martinis!
For the pea blinis:
250g frozen peas
1 egg
5 tbsp flour
¼ teaspoon salt
pepper
3 tbsp sunflower oil
60g crème fraîche
2 tbsp fresh mint, chopped
salt and pepper
Baby cress, for decorating
For the mint martinis:
8 mint leaves, plus extra to decorate
20ml lime juice
120ml Martini Bianco
40ml vodka
4 ice cubes
60ml tonic
Makes 25 Blinis and 2 Mint Martinis – Preparation: 25 min + 30 min cool
For the pea blinis:
Put the peas in a saucepan with boiling, salted water. Bring to the boil and cook for 2 minutes. Drain and cool under a running tap.
Set aside 2 tablespoons of peas for decorating later. Put the remaining peas in a bowl and roughly puree them with a stick blender. Add the egg, flour, salt and pepper and mix into a batter.
Heat the sunflower oil in a pan and put teaspoons of batter into the hot fat. Fry on a medium heat for 2 ½ minutes on each side, then put on a plate lined with kitchen paper. Leave the blinis cool for half an hour before assembling.
Meanwhile, mix the crème fraîche with the mint and season with salt and pepper. Put into a small piping bag and refrigerate until needed.
Before serving, decorate each blini with a dollop of minted crème fraîche. Decorate with the reserved peas and a bit of baby cress. Serve at room temperature.
For the mint martinis:
Crush the mint leaves with a mortar and place in a cocktail shaker. Add the lime juice, Martini Bianco, vodka and ice cubes and shake in the shaker. Pour through a sieve into two glasses, then pour tonic over them and decorate with mint.
