The salmon, chives and creme fraiche in Dominique Crenn’s home fridge come together in this luxurious but simple, house-cured salmon dish. Crenn, chef-owner of San Francisco’s three-Michelin-starred Atelier Crenn, shares the recipe in the new cookbook, “CHEFS’ FRIDGES: More Than 35 World-Renowned Cooks Reveal What They Eat at Home,” (Harper Design; $40) by Carrie Solomon and Adrian Moore.
For the cookbook, Solomon and Moore peeked into Crenn’s tiny drawer refrigerator, which also holds the eggs from her own chickens that she uses to make the pita crackers for this dish.
Cured Salmon with Creme Fraiche and Lemon
Ingredients
2 cups kosher salt
2 cups sugar
2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
2 scallions, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons lime zest
1 to 2 pound salmon filet, skin on
30 pita crackers (recipe follows)
1 cup creme fraiche
15 chives, minced
Zest of two lemons
Directions
In a bowl, mix the salt, sugar, ginger, scallions, garlic and lime zest together. Place the salmon in a dish with edges and cover with the mixture. Cover with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator for 24 hours.
Rinse the salmon. Pat it dry. Remove the skin and, beginning with the tail end, slice the fish so thinly that the knife is visible as you cut through. Layer the slices with a sheet of parchment paper between each new layer. The salmon will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days.
To serve, place a slice of salmon on a pita cracker, followed by dollops of creme fraiche and sprinklings of chives and lemon zest. Serve immediately.
Pita crackers
Makes approximately 30 crackers
Ingredients
3½ cups bread flour
1 cup durum flour
1/6 teaspoon instant yeast
2 egg yolks
1½ cups plus two tablespoons water
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 teaspoons sea salt
Directions
Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl. Mix with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until you form a shaggy dough. Place the dough onto a clean work surface and knead it by hand for 8 to 11 minutes, until smooth. Place the dough into a clean bowl and allow it to rise for 3 hours at room temperature. It will double in volume.
Place the dough on a floured work surface. Divide it into ping-pong size balls. Cover with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel and let rise for 1 hour. Roll out or flatten and stretch each ball by hand to about 6 inches in diameter. Let the pitas rest for 15 minutes.
Place a large cast iron skillet or heavy saute pan over medium-high heat and cook the pitas, about 2 minutes per side, until they puff up. Set aside finished pitas, wrapped in a clean kitchen towel, to ensure softness.
To make crackers, heat the oven to 350 degrees. Separate the sides of the pita, then tear apart to form 4-inch crackers. Toast in the oven for 5 to 7 minutes, until golden and crisp.
— From “CHEFS’ FRIDGES: More Than 35 World-Renowned Cooks Reveal What They Eat at Home,” (Harper Design; $40) by Carrie Solomon and Adrian Moore
