Corn and Wild Rice Pancake with Smoked Salmon and Serrano Chile Crème Fraîche

Crunchy pancakes with smoked salmon

Category
Appetizer
Cuisine
Southwestern
Serves
12
Time
2 hours
From
Bobby Flay

cornpancakesricesalmon

Adapted from Bobby Flay: Chapter One

The star of this Mesa Grill appetizer is the pancake studded with nutty wild rice and crunchy corn. It's delicious on its own, but why not use this opportunity to cure your own fresh salmon? It's easy and satisfying. This would make a fabulous New Year's Eve hors d'oeuvre.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup fresh corn kernels
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
  • 2 cups whole milk
  • 1½ cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon honey
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon pureed canned chipotle in adobo
  • 1 cup cooked wild rice
  • ¼ cup chopped scallions
  • ¼ cup finely chopped fresh cilantro leaves
  • 4 slices Tequila-Cured Salmon or smoked salmon
  • Serrano Chile Crème Fraîche

Instructions

  1. Set an oven rack in the lowest position and preheat the oven to 350°F.
  2. Place the corn kernels on a baking sheet, add the olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and toss to coat. Roast the corn until lightly golden brown, stirring a few times, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl and set aside.
  3. In a medium bowl, combine the eggs, melted butter, milk, flour, honey, and baking powder and stir to combine. Add the chipotle, wild rice, scallions, cilantro, and corn to the batter, season with salt and pepper, and mix well. (You can make this batter up to 4 hours in advance; store it covered in the refrigerator.)
  4. Heat a medium nonstick skillet over low heat.

Pour the batter in ¼-cup portions to form pancakes.

Depending on the size of your skillet, you should be able to cook 3 pancakes at once. Cook until brown on the bottom, about 3 minutes, then flip and cook until brown on the other side, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a baking sheet and continue with the remaining batter. You should end up with about 12 pancakes.

  1. Either divide the pancakes among serving plates or arrange them all on a large platter. Tear each slice of salmon into 3 equal pieces. Place a piece of salmon on top of each pancake. Top the salmon with a dollop of serrano chile crème fraîche and serve.

Notes