by Martha Holmberg
from Puff: 50 Flaky, Crunchy, Delicious Appetizers, Entrées, and Desserts Made with Puff Pastry
(Chronicle, 2008)
Makes 25 canapés

Sometimes a classic canapé is exactly the right thing to serve with drinks — light and elegant, but yummy enough to get the party started deliciously. Shannon Wheeler, who helped me so ably with this book, developed these pretty hors d’oeuvres using our local wild Oregon salmon, of course. We prefer using hot-smoked salmon, which crumbles well and has a more pronounced smoky flavor than a cold-smoked, lox-style salmon, but you could use lox in a pinch as long as you chop it fine.

convert Ingredients
4 ounces hot-smoked salmon, skin removed, and broken into very small flakes
1 cup crème fraîche
2 1/2 tablespoons prepared horseradish (from a jar), plus more to taste
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill, plus 25 tiny sprigs for garnish
2 1/2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 sheet (about 9 ounces] frozen puff pastry, thawed
About 1 1/2 tablespoons capers for garnish

Method
1. Put the salmon into a small bowl and gently stir together with the crème fraîche, horseradish, chopped dill, lemon zest, salt, and pepper. Chill for at least 30 minutes and up to an hour to allow the flavors to blend and the texture to firm up. The longer the filling sits, however, the milder the horseradish flavor becomes, so taste and add more if needed.

2. Heat the oven to 400°F (200°C).

3. Lay the pastry sheet on a lightly floured counter and roll just to smooth it out into a 10-inch square. Using a 2-inch cutter, stamp out 25 rounds of puff pastry. Arrange the rounds on a baking sheet, and bake in the hot oven until rich golden brown, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool. Using your index finger, lightly press down the center of the puffed disks to create a well in the center.

4. Put the chilled salmon mixture in a pastry bag fitted with a large plain tip or in a heavy-duty zip-top bag with about 1/2 inch snipped off one corner. Pipe the filling into each puff. Garnish each top with a few capers and a small sprig of dill. Serve immediately.

Recipe © 2008 by Martha Holmberg. All rights reserved.
© 2009 Leite’s Culinaria, Inc. All rights reserved. Terms of use.

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