Scotch Smoked Salmon with Pea Pancakes, Creme Fraiche & Meyer Lemon
I have to hurry and post this recipe before fresh peas totally disappear from the markets. Zenchef wants to stay seasonal although he’s been a bit bloglazy lately (yes it’s a new word). I hope health conscious people will appreciate the efforts i made here to incorporate a green vegetable into breakfast. This sneaky cover-up operation transformed a good old pancake into something seemingly… healthy! [cough-cough] All that healthiness was later canceled when i added a big scoop of creme fraiche to the final result. Hey, at least it wasn’t bacon!
I wasn’t even trying to make something healthy and for that matter - i wasn’t even trying to make something green. It’s just happens that peas are green.. and healthy. Weird. Not only these pancakes score a bright green color but they actually taste like sweet peas, which is what i was going for. Pea flavored breakfast food. No.. let me rephrase that. I wasn’t trying to make breakfast either. Those little suckers were served at a cocktail party and were really popular as such. I think i was just trying to make something orange and green with a touch of yellow because i suck at photography and can’t take picture of monochromatic dishes. Maybe i should’ve become a painter and not a chef. The smoked salmon works beautifully on these pea pancakes and with a dollop of creme fraiche and meyer lemon for the extra zinger you’re in for a treat. You could also add some salmon roe to this if you’re feeling crazy.
So here you have it, i mean… you’re on your own! Use these pancakes for breakfast, cocktail or dinner or whatever you like. They work well as frisbees too but without the topping. Fun!
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Scotch Smoked Salmon with Pea Pancakes, Creme Fraiche and Meyer Lemon
- Inspired by a recipe by Bill Telepan
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- Serves 4
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For the pea pancakes:
- 4 ounces sugar snap peas
- 1 cup shelled fresh green peas, or frozen
- 3 tablespoons half & half
- 1 egg
- 4 tablespoons flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- salt to taste
- 4 tablespoons butter
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To finish:
- 1/2 cup creme fraiche
- 6 ounces Scotch smoked salmon
- 1 Meyer lemon, segmented
- chives
- salmon roe (optional)
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For the pea pancakes:
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- Blanch the sugar snaps in a pot of salted boiling water, transfer to an ice bath and drain.
- Repeat the same step for the shelled peas and mash them with a fork.
- In a blender, combine the snap peas, and half & half and process until smooth.
- Add the egg, the flour, the baking powder, sugar and a pinch of salt and process for 15 seconds more.
- Transfer mixture to a medium bowl and fold in the mashed peas.
- Melt some butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat and drop tablespoons of batter into the pan. Flip the pancakes when lightly brown and finish cooking. Transfer to paper towels and keep warm.
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To finish:
- When ready to serve, place a slice of smoked salmon on a pancake topped with creme fraiche, salmon roe (if using) Meyer lemon and chives.
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June 28th, 2009 at 10:51 pm
the tears in my eyes make it difficult to make a proper comment.
June 28th, 2009 at 11:50 pm
Nice dish!
We are making almost the same thing at work but with a spinach pancake and parsley whipped cream.
June 29th, 2009 at 12:41 am
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June 29th, 2009 at 1:35 am
How lovely and elegant! I love the vibrant colors! (Actually, salmon and green were my wedding colors.) I could totally see serving these anytime!
June 29th, 2009 at 1:57 am
Looks delicious! I love fresh peas and they pair so well with salmon. Great dish!
June 29th, 2009 at 3:18 am
That’s a great idea with the pea pancakes. Will definitely give it a try.
June 29th, 2009 at 3:59 am
Yikes, who even wants monochromatic dishes all the time? Getting a bit of odd (if you can call orange and green that) color in there is a perfect way to guarantee complex flavors, and maybe even nutrition. But, no bacon?! Ahrr
Kidding!
June 29th, 2009 at 8:01 am
Hey creme fraiche must have some calcium. And, I think bloglazy is a great word–i sure embody it.
June 29th, 2009 at 9:35 am
If you want to play pea pancake frisbee with me you’ll have to triple the quantities darling because I can’t promise how many I’m going to throw back.
June 29th, 2009 at 3:56 pm
Almost too pretty to eat. Note..I said..almost.
June 29th, 2009 at 8:15 pm
They are indeed very colorful and pretty!
June 30th, 2009 at 4:19 am
.intense love.
June 30th, 2009 at 7:43 am
love smoked salmon…nice combination..slurps
June 30th, 2009 at 2:40 pm
Our peas are still going strong, though the favas are on their way out. When my son gets over his cold, I’ll make these pancakes for him.
June 30th, 2009 at 3:59 pm
How cute these are! I’m
thinking brunch one weekend while entertaining friends. They would be so impressed. Fantastic photos as always…
June 30th, 2009 at 4:56 pm
These just look yummalicious, my mouth is watering just looking at the Meyer Lemon, I can taste it!
June 30th, 2009 at 10:27 pm
Oh my goodness these are BEAUTIFUL! Well done on the pictures and color combos. I would love to lick the screen and taste them! When do you think that will be an option? Talk about food porn! Anyways, I digress, thanks for the lovely post.
July 1st, 2009 at 7:08 pm
Lovely “shreckish” pancakes! Yes, that’s a word!
July 4th, 2009 at 9:13 am
OH MY MY MY! Zen man does it again. This looks extravagantly sublime! What a comination! I’m salivating! I think i might have my breakfast for dinner!
July 7th, 2009 at 5:26 pm
Wow - that’s very green. And very nice too.
July 18th, 2009 at 9:07 pm
Your pictures are all so stunning. The colors are very vivid. May I ask what type of camera you use?
August 15th, 2009 at 1:19 pm
all-right, love at first (web)site, I’m addicted to this webblog allready. I’m from Holland, can some-one explain what kind of stuff three spoons of half & half is, is it some kind of ingredient?
August 16th, 2009 at 1:03 am
Andrew, half and half is 1/2 heavy cream and 1/2 milk. Same as light cream in Europe.
August 18th, 2009 at 6:02 am
hi, thanks for the half & half, learned something again….! I made the pancakes with the salmon, and added puree of horseradish carrot to the creme-fraiche topping. Hope I wrote it in good English….
August 18th, 2009 at 6:26 am
well, yesterday 17-08 was my birthday and I made them as starter for dinner, my friends eyes rolled out of their sculls, amazed as they were, thank you, Zen(master)
December 20th, 2009 at 2:20 pm
These photos are astonishing… and the taste combination inspired. Thanks for the great post!
February 3rd, 2010 at 8:35 am
wooow looks amazing. im producing this for my coursework at school. thak you