Courgette blinis

Excellent on their own... and much better when served with a generous dollop of home-made tzatziki. The secret to getting them right is (1) to have the pan hot enough before you add the batter (2) to use only the lightest coating of oil in the pan, and (3) to leave them for long enough after the batter has first gone in for the blinis to have developed a good firm 'skin' before you flip them over.

Makes 12.

Ingredients:

2 medium courgettes; 2 eggs; 50g flour; 20g butter, melted; 1 tbs finely chopped chives or onion; 50g feta; 75g parmesan (or grana); 1 generous spoonful of greek yoghurt.

Method:

1. Heat a large frying pan, and drizzle into it just enough oil to film the surface.

2. Using the grater disc on the food processor, grate the courgettes.

3. Whisk together the eggs, butter, and flour. Fold into this the grated courgette, and then use the processor to blitz together the two cheeses, and in turn fold these into the batter, along with the chives or onion. Stir in the yoghurt and season to taste with about a tsp of salt.

4. Making sure the pan is good and hot, spoon the mixture in rounds into the pan - I use a crumpet ring to do this; it's a good size, and makes regular blinis rather than misshapen dollops. In my largest pan I can do six blinis at a time, and so this amount of batter takes two full loads.

5. Allow to cook for about two minutes before gently sliding the edge of a palette knife under each blini, and once you are sure they are firm enough not to fall to pieces, flip them over, to cook on the other side. After about a minute, they're done.

6. Keep warm in a low oven until all are done, and you're ready to serve.