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Smoked salmon tarte flambée with dilly-parsley pesto

A bright & fresh version of the classic Alsatian tarte flambée
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time25 minutes
Total Time50 minutes
Course: Dinner
Cuisine: European
Keyword: dill, smoked salmon
Servings: 3

Ingredients

  • 3 tarte flambée (flammekueche) crusts or extra-thin pizza crusts, 110 g each, 31 cm/12 in diameter
  • 75 g pickled red onions ingredients below
  • 4 ½ tbsp capers drained
  • 150 g smoked salmon cut into bite-sized pieces

Pickled onions:

  • 1 small red onion very thinly sliced
  • 500 ml (2 cups) boiling water
  • 60 ml (¼ cup) cold water
  • 60 ml (¼ cup) white vinegar
  • 1 tsp salt
  • ½ tsp whole black peppercorns

Pesto

  • 30 g dill leaves and fine stems only
  • 90 g parsley leaves and fine stems only
  • 1 clove garlic chopped
  • 1 tsp lemon zest
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice
  • 25 g (2½ tbsp) toasted pine nuts see note 1 for toasting
  • 20 g (3 tbsp) grated Parmesan cheese
  • 55 g olive oil
  • ¼ tsp salt

Cream sauce

  • 85 g (6 tbsp) crème fraîche (full fat)
  • 120 g (8 tbsp) fromage blanc (full fat) see note 2 for substitute
  • 1 tsp cornstarch
  • ½ tsp salt
  • Black pepper

Instructions

  • Pickle the onions: Put the very thinly sliced onion in a colander and pour over the 500 ml (2 cups) boiling waterr. Put the onion slices in a jar. Add 60 ml (¼ cup) cold water and 60 ml (¼ cup) white vinegar. Stir in 1 tsp salt and ½ tsp whole black peppercorns. Make sure the onions are covered by the liquid and let stand at least 15 minutes. The onions and juice will turn pink as the onions become pickled.
  • Preheat the oven to 250 °C with a grill rack in the lower part of the oven.
  • Blend the pesto: Put all the pesto ingredients in a small food processor. Process until everything is well blended and finely chopped.
  • Mix up the cream sauce: Mix together all the ingredients for the cream sauce in a small bowl.
  • Top with cream sauce, onions, & capers: Put one of the crusts on a baking sheet with no edges (used to slide the tarte flambée into the oven). Spread about 65 g of the cream sauce over the crust, leaving about ½ cm without sauce around the edges. Sprinkle 25 g pickled onions and 1 ½ tbsp capers over the tart. Slide the tarte into the hot oven. Bake directly on the rack (not on the baking sheet for a crispier crust) for 6-7 minutes or until the cream sauce gets a few golden spots.
  • Add smoked salmon & pesto: Take the tart out of the oven and add the smoked salmon and dollops of the dilly-parsley pesto on top. You may further bake the tart 1 minute if you want the salmon slightly cooked and the pesto warmed.
  • Serve hot!

Notes

  1. I toasted my pine nuts in the air fryer with a parchment liner on 150 °C for 5-7 minutes.
  2. If you can’t find crème fraîche and fromage blanc, substitute both with sour cream, which will come close in fat content (the cream sauce in the recipe is about 17% fat).