By David Tanis
- Total Time
- 1½ hours
- Rating
- 4(499)
- Notes
- Read community notes
This is an easy but elegant co*cktail snack to serve year round, but it’s especially nice during the holiday season as a reward for bearing up with frigid winter weather. Essentially, it’s a large buttery cracker, garnished with smoked salmon and cut up like a pizza. The pastry rounds may be baked ahead and left at room temperature. Assembling one tart at a time is the best way to keep everything looking and tasting freshly made. The recipe makes four 8-inch tarts; if you need less, consider making a half batch or freezing some of the dough for future use.
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Ingredients
Yield:4 tarts, each serving 2 to 4 people
- 2cups/310 grams all-purpose flour
- ½teaspoon baking powder
- Kosher salt
- 4ounces/1 stick/120 grams unsalted butter, cold and cut in half-inch chunks
- 2egg yolks, beaten with enough ice water to make ½ cup
- 8ounces/1 cup/240 milliliters crème fraîche
- 3tablespoons freshly grated horseradish, or more to taste
- 1teaspoon Dijon mustard
- Zest of 1 lemon
- Coarsely ground black pepper
- 1small sweet onion, very thinly sliced
- 1teaspoon olive oil
- ¼pound/4 ounces/125 grams sliced smoked salmon
- 2ounces/60 grams trout roe or wild salmon caviar (optional)
- 1tablespoon snipped chives
- 1teaspoon roughly chopped tarragon, or torn leaves
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
731 calories; 42 grams fat; 23 grams saturated fat; 1 gram trans fat; 12 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 70 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams dietary fiber; 6 grams sugars; 20 grams protein; 708 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
Make the pastry: Put flour, baking powder and ½ teaspoon salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse briefly, then add butter all at once and whir until mixture resembles wet sand. Add egg and continue just until dough comes together. (Alternatively, cut butter into dry ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix by hand.) Knead dough lightly on counter-top, then divide into four pieces and form each into a ball. Wrap with plastic film and flatten to 1-inch-thick disks. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
Step
2
Make the horseradish cream: Mix together crème fraîche, horseradish, mustard and lemon zest. Season generously with salt and pepper, then keep cool. (If cream firms upon standing, beat with a fork.)
Step
3
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Put onion in a small bowl and season with salt and pepper. Add olive oil and mix to coat. Roll out each piece of dough to an 8-inch-diameter circle. Place the pastry disks on parchment-lined baking sheets. Sprinkle onion slices over each round.
Step
4
Bake tart rounds for 6 to 7 minutes, until pastry is lightly browned and puffed, and onions are starting to brown. (Turn pans halfway through for even browning.) Let cool for a minute or two.
Step
5
Put pastry on a cutting board. Cut into 6 or 8 wedges. Spoon some horseradish cream onto each wedge. Tear salmon slices into wide ribbons and lay them over the cream. (Use 1 ounce salmon per tart.) Top each wedge with a tiny spoonful of roe, if using, and sprinkle with chives and tarragon. Serve directly from the board.
Ratings
4
out of 5
499
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Cooking Notes
Susan
This was a huge hit with our New Year's Day crowd. Made it with store bought puff pastry and caramelized the onions first.
Mary
These were a very popular appetizer. I used a biscuit cutter and make smaller crackers.
Dawning Hope
Looked stunning, the pastry tart base was lovely-- but wrong for this treatment. Did not pair well with the toppings
Rebecca Kelly
So yummy
I cheated and used puff pastry from whole foods!
Mike Kambour
Substituted cracker with puff pastry and topped with a garnish of finely chopped preserved lemon.
Susan
How did I do this with puff pastry
LAC
Quite good! I'm not great making pastries but this one was easy and fool-proof. Don't shy away from the onions as they will soften significantly in the oven. I found tarragon isn't quite the right herb for smoked salmon so I used only chives the second time around. Dill would be nice too. Try squeezing a lemon in the crème fraîche or on the final product!
SJ
I made this in 2014 for s Solstice party. Foodie guests appreciated it a lot. It is very good, festive, and special. But, it is a lot of work. Just assembling them takes time, not to mention prepping the ingredients.
Slim Pickins
Made this for Christmas eve breakfast. I think I would rather have puff pastry as the base. Otherwise very tasty with morning coffee and the paper.
Terry
Turn to this often. Always a great favorite. I use 5” tart rings to cut out pastry and make 5 tarts (math actually works — area of 8” diameter circle is ~ 50”; area of 5 inch diameter circle is ~ 19. A bit prettier and easier to work with. Then cut in 4. Best if put together just before eating— I often put tarts and toppings out in serving area and have earliest guests do it. (Keeps them out of the kitchen, too.)
Lily Rose
Two evenings ago, I served this dish as a first course at a pre-Christmas dinner. It was very well received. I will make again for a special occasion but will increase the amount of smoked salmon. Very expensive dish though but much appreciated.
Jane
Next time like another reviewer suggested, I will use store bought puff pastry.
megan T
Yummy!!! Super easy and crowd pleasing.
loren
Made for thanksgiving 2018, more horseradish? Used salmon roe, lumpfish might be better
Katherine Canipelli
The perfect appetizer to bring to St Patrick's Day dinner party, rich in flavors but easy to portion for those who want just a taste. Made the cracker base per the recipe--very easy and they came out tender yet sturdy enough to handle the toppings. I also added a handful of herb/microgreens on top before slicing the assembled tarts and placed little pots of whitefish roe (what was available here) on the serving platter as an optional dash of taste. Rave reviews; it's a keeper!
Slim Pickins
Made this for Christmas eve breakfast. I think I would rather have puff pastry as the base. Otherwise very tasty with morning coffee and the paper.
Lily Rose
Two evenings ago, I served this dish as a first course at a pre-Christmas dinner. It was very well received. I will make again for a special occasion but will increase the amount of smoked salmon. Very expensive dish though but much appreciated.
LAC
Quite good! I'm not great making pastries but this one was easy and fool-proof. Don't shy away from the onions as they will soften significantly in the oven. I found tarragon isn't quite the right herb for smoked salmon so I used only chives the second time around. Dill would be nice too. Try squeezing a lemon in the crème fraîche or on the final product!
Diane K. Martin
I immediately thought to try this with Vicolo corn meal pizza crust, available in Trader Joes and other supermarkets. I also thought of using their wasabi mayonnaise instead of the horseradish cream (or maybe mixing it with cream cheese). And I would use hot smoked salmon.
Terry
Turn to this often. Always a great favorite. I use 5” tart rings to cut out pastry and make 5 tarts (math actually works — area of 8” diameter circle is ~ 50”; area of 5 inch diameter circle is ~ 19. A bit prettier and easier to work with. Then cut in 4. Best if put together just before eating— I often put tarts and toppings out in serving area and have earliest guests do it. (Keeps them out of the kitchen, too.)
Meg
I notice that the photo shows the tart topped and cut like a pizza, not cut first and topped after as the recipe calls for. I like the look better, and it sure seems quicker and easier to assemble that way.
Jake
I made this for the Feast of the Seven Fishes, using toast squares instead of pastry due to the time crunch. It was delicious--one of the big hits of the meal.
Beth
I made mini-buttermilk biscuits (instead of the pastry) and made the appetizer into sliders. Whisked some goat cheese into the creme fraiche to stiffen it up a little. People gobbled them up.
Mike Kambour
Substituted cracker with puff pastry and topped with a garnish of finely chopped preserved lemon.
Gerda Wolf-Sheriff
I prepared this recipe and did like the topping, the combination of horseradish, lemon zest and crème fraîche. However, the crackers were too crumbly. By adding a whole egg instead of egg yolks things might have held together better. The excessive amount of calories should also be considered.
Rebecca Kelly
So yummy
I cheated and used puff pastry from whole foods!
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