What to Eat with Caviar – Blini, Toast, Eggs and Creams

How it works

What to eat caviar with? Caviar is salt-cured roe, eaten as a garnish or a spread, so everything beside it is plain and mild. These 35 ideas run from bases and garnishes to drinks with no alcohol.

Read the full guide

Blini, the spoon and other roe

Blini are small savory pancakes, often made with buckwheat, and caviar is a popular filling for them at Russian-style parties. They are also served covered with butter or sour cream. Caviar is served with mother of pearl spoons, which do not taint its taste. The word caviar is also used for the roe of salmon, trout and lumpfish, and every idea here suits those too.

Build one bite

Start with something plain that is warm or crisp. Add one cool cream, then a small spoonful of caviar on top.

Set the tin in a bowl of crushed ice and bring it out when the guests sit down.
Leave garlic, hot sauce and strong cheese off the table. They cover the taste of the caviar.

Questions and answers

What do you eat caviar with?

Start with blini or toast points and crème fraîche. Snipped chives, chopped hard-boiled egg and minced shallot go in small dishes beside them. Boiled new potatoes and soft scrambled eggs make it a plate.

What crackers go with caviar?

Plain rice crackers and toast points carry the caviar without adding a taste of their own. Kettle potato chips do the same job, and brioche toast or buttered crumpets are softer bases.

What goes with caviar for dinner?

Spaghetti with butter, poached white fish with butter sauce or cold lobster, each finished with a spoonful at the table. Cauliflower soup and oysters on the half shell are smaller courses.

What do you drink with caviar?

Without alcohol: sparkling white grape juice, chilled white tea, or tonic water with lemon peel over ice.

All 35 ideas

Blini, toast and crisp bases 7

Blini Small and warm, with a dab of cream under the caviar.
Brioche toast Toast it lightly and butter it while it is warm.
Buttered crumpets Toast them well so the butter runs into the holes.
Kettle potato chips Plain salted ones, each with a dot of cream and a little caviar.
Plain rice crackers Crisp and mild, so they stay out of the way.
Sushi rice on toasted seaweed A small spoonful of rice on a square of seaweed, caviar on top.
Toast points Thin white toast with the crusts off, cut into triangles.

Creams and garnishes 7

Chopped hard-boiled egg Keep the white and the yolk in separate little heaps.
Crème fraîche A small cold spoonful goes on before the caviar.
Mascarpone For guests who find sour cream too sharp.
Minced shallot Chop it very fine and offer it in a dish of its own.
Snipped chives Cut them fine and scatter only a few.
Sour cream Stir it smooth and serve it very cold.
Unsalted butter Spread it soft on warm toast before the caviar goes on.

Eggs and potatoes 7

Boiled new potatoes Halve them warm and top each with cream and a little caviar.
Crisp potato tots Hot from the oven, each with cream and caviar on top.
Potato rösti Fry it thin and crisp and cut it into wedges.
Quail eggs Boil them, halve them and crown each half.
Soft scrambled eggs Cook them slowly and spoon the caviar on at the table.
Soft-boiled egg Lift off the top of the shell and add a small spoonful.
Steamed egg custard Smooth and barely set, served warm in a small cup.

Dishes to finish with a spoonful 11

Burrata Tear it open and spoon the caviar into the creamy middle.
Cauliflower soup Blend it smooth, pour it into small cups and float a spoonful on top.
Chilled cucumber soup Serve it in small glasses with the caviar in the middle.
Chilled silken tofu A cold square in a small dish with the caviar on top.
Cold lobster Sliced tail meat with a little butter sauce.
Cucumber tea sandwiches Cut them small and set them beside the tin.
Oysters on the half shell Keep them on ice and add the caviar just before serving.
Poached white fish with butter sauce Stir the caviar into the warm sauce at the last moment.
Smoked salmon Lay a slice on a blini and put the caviar on last.
Smoked trout Flake it onto toast with a little cream.
Spaghetti with butter Toss the pasta off the heat and top each plate at the table.

Drinks 3

Chilled white tea Brew it light and serve it cold with no sugar.
Sparkling white grape juice Well chilled, in a tall narrow glass.
Tonic water with lemon peel Over ice, dry and a little bitter, between spoonfuls.