Red Pepper Blini with Creamed Corn and Smoked Salmon
In his riff on blini and caviar, chef Jonathan Waxman of NYC’s Jams serves tender red pepper pancakes with a sweet corn sauce, decadent smoked salmon, and caviar.
Ingredients
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1 cup corn kernels, thawed if frozen
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1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons heavy cream
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6 tablespoons unsalted butter, 1 tablespoon melted
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1 jarred red bell pepper, drained (2 ounces)
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1 large egg, beaten
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1/3 cup all-purpose flour
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3/4 teaspoon baking powder
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1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
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3 ounces thinly sliced smoked salmon
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Crème fraîche, for serving
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1 ounce American caviar (trout, paddlefish, salmon or whitefish)
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Snipped chives, for garnish
Direction
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In a small saucepan, combine the corn and 1/2 cup of the cream. Bring to a simmer and cook over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until the corn is tender and the cream is reduced and thickened, about 8 minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in 3 tablespoons of the butter. Let cool to room temperature.
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In a food processor, puree the bell pepper until smooth; scrape into a medium bowl. Add the egg, the melted butter and the remaining 2 tablespoons of cream, then add the flour, baking powder and salt and whisk until well blended.
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In a large nonstick skillet, melt 1 tablespoon of butter. Ladle 1 tablespoonful of batter per pancake into the skillet to make 6 pancakes. Cook over moderately low heat, turning once, until set, about 3 minutes per side. Repeat with the remaining butter and batter to make 12 pancakes total.
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Spoon the creamed corn onto plates. Arrange 3 pancakes on each plate. Top with the smoked salmon and dollop with crème fraîche. Top with the caviar, garnish with chives and serve.
