I have made several versions of this terrific appetizer, but I like this one the best. Other recipes use sour cream or cream cheese, but the creme fraiche seems to me to have the right consistency and flavor, and I love the addition of arugula here. This came from a beautiful food blog called Spoon Fork Bacon (cute!) -take a look! Their recipe includes a pizza dough recipe that takes several hours to rise..go to their website for it if you wish; otherwise I suggest using purchased pizza dough from your market (Trader Joes etc.) or even a pre-baked version available everywhere such as Bobili. I rolled out my purchased dough into a rectangle to make it easy to cut into squares for serving. This would make a great summer dinner as well. Creme fraiche is available next to the sour cream in many markets.
Toppings for two medium pizzas.
1/2 cup creme fraiche
6 ounces cold smoked salmon, cut on a bias into thin strips.
1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup capers, drained
1 cup baby arugula
3-4 large springs dill
zest of one lemon
salt and pepper to taste
If you are baking fresh pizza dough, preheat the oven to 425 degrees (preheat the pizza stone as well if you are using one.) Cover each baking sheet with parchment and sprinkle with a layer of cornmeal.
On a clean, lightly floured surface, roll the dough out into your desired shape and place on the parchment paper or pizza stone. Pierce it all over with a fork, and brush lightly with olive oil. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown and crisp. Remove from the oven and allow the crust to cool before topping.
For each pizza top with the following:
Dollop half the creme fraiche atop the crust and top with pieces of salmon. Top salmon with a sprinkle of red onions and capers. Sprinkle half the arugula and dill(sprigs lightly torn) over the top and finish with a little salt, pepper and lemon zest.
Note : I found it easier to spread the creme fraiche on the crust and then cut into serving pieces before adding the toppings (MUCH easier). I surrounded the pizza with arugula on the platter for a prettier presentation. You can make this ahead and refrigerate it wrapped in plastic. I think some thinly sliced cucumber would also be wonderful on this!
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