Smoked Salmon With Crispy Shallots And Dilled Cream Recipes

CRISPY POTATO PANCAKE WITH SMOKED SALMON AND DILL-CAPER VINAIGRETTE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• In a small mixing bowl, combine the mustard, vinegar and shallots. Whisk in the canola and olive oils to emulsify the dressing, and then fold in the capers and dill. Season with pepper only, as the capers are salty.
• On the large-hole side of a box grater, grate the onion into a strainer set over a bowl. Then, peel the potatoes. It is important to work quickly to avoid potato oxidation. You do not want to store the potatoes in water, as the starch will be washed away. Using the large-hole side of the box grater, grate the potatoes into the strainer. Press out the liquid and discard. Toss the potatoes with the onions and season with salt and pepper.
• In an 8-inch nonstick saute pan set over medium-high heat, melt the Clarified Butter. It will seem like a lot of butter. Pack the potatoes into the pan, so that the layer is 1/2-inch thick. Saute the potatoes until the bottom just starts to brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Carefully and gently flip the potato pancake onto a small plate browned-side up. Then slide the potato pancake back into the pan and brown on the other side over medium-high heat. Place in the oven and cook until evenly golden, another 10 to 15 minutes. Drain the potato pancake on a paper towel and cut into quarters.
• Roll the smoked salmon into rosettes. Top the potato pancake slices with the smoked salmon rosettes, a few dollops of creme fraiche and the dill fronds. Drizzle with the vinaigrette before serving.
• Heat the butter in a heavy-duty saucepan over very low heat until it's melted. Simmer gently until the foam rises to the top of the melted butter. The butter may splatter a bit, so be careful.
• Once the butter stops spluttering and no more foam seems to be rising to the surface, remove from the heat and skim off the foam with a spoon.
• Line a mesh strainer with a few layers of cheesecloth or gauze and set the strainer over a heatproof container.
• Carefully pour the warm butter through the cheesecloth-lined strainer into the container, discarding any solids from the bottom of the pan.

CUCUMBER CUPS WITH DILL CREAM AND SMOKED SALMON

Steps:

• Trim ends from cucumbers and cut crosswise into 24 (3/4-inch-thick) rounds. Scoop a 1/2-inch-deep depression from one side of each round with a small melon-baller, forming little cups. Drain cucumbers, cup sides down, on paper towels for 15 minutes.
• Beat cream cheese, chopped dill, lemon zest, lemon juice, and black pepper together in a bowl. Spoon 1/2 teaspoon cheese mixture into each cucumber cup. Top each cup with 1 salmon strip and 1 dill sprig.

SMOKED SALMON WITH CRISPY SHALLOTS AND DILLED CREAM

Steps:

• Whisk sour cream, finely chopped fresh dill, and lemon in small bowl to blend. Season to taste with salt and pepper. DO AHEAD: Dilled cream can be made 8 hours ahead. Chill. Rewhisk before using.
• Melt butter with olive oil in small skillet over medium-high heat. Add thinly sliced shallot, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and sauté until golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer sautéed shallots to paper towels to drain completely (shallot pieces will crisp as they cool). DO AHEAD: Crispy shallots can be made up to 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.
• Arrange baguette slices or water crackers on plate. Spread thin layer of dilled cream over each baguette slice or cracker. Carefully arrange salmon slices atop, dividing equally. Spoon small dollop of dilled cream atop each, sprinkle with crispy shallots, and serve.