I cured a wild salmon filet this week so I decided to use it for my entry:
Crust: American style sourdough (Austrian starter culture, 2 day room temp ferment/proof)
Toppings:
- cured salmon slices
- red onion
- capers
- tomato slices
- Mexican cream
- chopped fresh dill
I've often seen cured or smoked salmon on pizzas and in other cooked dishes such as pasta and eggs. Cooking destroys the silky texture IMO, so the only way this entry was going to work for me would be to lay on the salmon slices after baking the crust (like I do with prosciutto, serrano ham, bresaola, etc.) I also decided the other toppings would be better uncooked. The crust went into the oven with only some olive oil drizzled on top. When the crust started puffing up, I place a heavy metal disk on it, just leaving the rim of the crust exposed. After a few minutes I removed the disk. When the crust was done and removed from the oven, the toppings were applied. The salmon was warm, but not cooked.
It was better than I thought it would be, but the decision was unanimous that I should go back to our traditional treatment: cold smoke the cured salmon and serve it with fresh-baked sourdough bagels with all the fixings.
