To those who say crepes with canned fish aren't appropriate New Years Eve party snacks, to those naysayers I say, more for me. There's no reason to be scared of crepes and canned fish, embrace it people.
I've never made any Russian influenced cuisine before, I've written about it, but never attempted to make it. So, I figured the first time I should attempt it should be for a small party with some friends. Sure, these are crepes and not blinis, but hey they're close enough. Sure, this may not be "authentic", but that's a word that should really never be used to describe food for reasons I'll get into later tonight after my fourth drink. Long story short the flavors in this dish are derived from Russian cuisine.
Buckwheat Crepes
I used Alton Brown's Crepe recipe and substituted buckwheat flour for the AP flour.
The Rolls
4 crepes makes 32 rolls
- 1 can Sardines in Olive Oil
- 3 Radishes sliced thinly with a mandolin
- 4 tablespoons Cream Cheese
- 3 Tablespoons Fennel Leaves chopped
- 3 Tablespoons Chives chopped
- 3 Tablespoons Capers
- After you make up 4 crepes spread 1 tablespoon of cream cheese evenly over 1 crepe.
- Crumble 1 sardine evenly over the crepe, as well as the capers.
- Make a ring of radishes, two deep, around the middle of crepe.
- Sprinkle some of the chives and fennel around.
- Using a pizza cutter cut 8 even slices.
- Roll each slice from the center out, in a croissant method. Use a toothpick to secure the roll. Store in the refrigerator until it's time to party.
- Alternate method: For an easier way to make the rolls follow the steps through step 4. Roll the crepe up like a cigar. Then cut in the middle, continue cutting making 8 evenly sized rolls. Stick them with a toothpick and enjoy!