Although Wolfgang Puck is best known for putting smoked salmon, caviar and dill-flecked crème fraîche on his designer pizzas, he also loves this trio of toppings with his exceptionally crispy potato pancakes, a dish he makes frequently when cooking at home. All three garnishes are wonderfully decadent together; still, you can leave out the smoked salmon or the caviar.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup crème fraîche or sour cream
- 1 teaspoon chopped dill
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon snipped chives
- 2 medium baking potatoes (1 pound), peeled
- 1 small onion
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1/2 pound thinly sliced smoked salmon
- 2 ounces caviar
Instruction
- In a small bowl, stir the crème fraîche with the dill and lemon juice. Season with salt and black pepper and sprinkle with the chives. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
- In a food processor or on a box grater, coarsely shred the potatoes and the onion. Transfer to a large, clean kitchen towel and squeeze dry.
- In a medium bowl, mix the shredded potatoes and onion with the egg, flour, baking powder, 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper.
- In a large nonstick skillet or on a griddle, heat the vegetable oil until shimmering. Drop 2 tablespoons of the potato mixture into the skillet and flatten with the back of a spoon to make a 3-inch round. Make about 5 more pancakes and cook over moderately high heat until golden on the bottom, about 4 minutes. Flip the pancakes and cook until golden, about 2 minutes longer. Transfer to paper towels to drain. Repeat with the remaining potato mixture; you should have 12 pancakes.
- Arrange the potato pancakes on a platter. Serve warm, with the dill cream, smoked salmon and caviar.
