INGREDIENTS

• 50g buckwheat flour (also sold as farine de blé noir) 
• 115g strong white bread flour 
• 1 tsp fine salt 
• 5g fast-action dried yeast 
• 160ml crème fraîche
• 160ml whole milk 
• 2 medium free-range eggs, separated 
• 1½ tbsp GRAHAM'S Horseradish Sauce 
• Vegetable oil for greasing
• 2-3 peppered smoked mackerel fillets, flaked, for topping 
• 1 lemon to squeeze 
• Crème fraîche to serve 
• Small bunch fresh chives, snipped finely, to scatter

For the buttered beetroot

• 50g unsalted butter 
• 2 large raw beetroot (about 150g), peeled and coarsely grated 

                                                                  Method

1. To make the blinis, put the flours with the salt in a bowl. Stir in the yeast and make a well in the centre. Gently heat the crème fraîche and milk in a pan until lukewarm. Add the egg yolks to the warm mixture, stir together, then pour into the well. Whisk with a balloon whisk until the batter is smooth. Cover with cling film and leave somewhere warm for 45 minutes until thick and frothy.
2. In a clean, dry bowl, whisk the egg whites with an electric hand mixer to medium peaks, then fold them into the batter, together with the GRAHAM'S Horseradish. 
3. Heat a large, heavy-based frying pan over a medium-high heat and lightly grease with vegetable oil. Drop 1⁄2 tablespoons of the batter, spaced apart, into the pan and cook for a minute or so until golden brown underneath. Flip, cook for a further minute until golden, then cool on a rack. Repeat in batches until all the batter is used. 
4. Just before you’re ready to serve, make the beetroot. Melt the butter in a saucepan and, when starting to sizzle, add the beetroot, season well and toss in the butter to coat. Cook for just a minute until hot but still crunchy, then remove from the heat. Top the blinis with a spoonful of beetroot and some smoked mackerel, then squeeze over a little lemon juice. Add a dollop of crème fraîche, scatter chives over and serve immediately.