Red Pepper Blini with Creamed Corn and Smoked Salmon

By DreiFromBK

In his riff on blini and caviar, chef Jonathan Waxman of NYC's Jams serves tender red pepper pancakes with a sweet corn sauce, decadent smoked salmon and caviar.

Ingredients

• 1 cup corn kernels, thawed if frozen
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, 1 tablespoon melted
• 1 jarred red bell pepper, drained (2 ounces)
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3 ounces thinly sliced smoked salmon
• Crème fraîche, for serving
• 1 ounce American caviar (trout, paddlefish, salmon or whitefish)
• Snipped chives, for garnish

Preparation

Step 1

In a small saucepan, combine the corn and 1/2 cup of the cream. Bring to a simmer and cook over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until the corn is tender and the cream is reduced and thickened, about 8 minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in 3 tablespoons of the butter. Let cool to room temperature.
In a food processor, puree the bell pepper until smooth; scrape into a medium bowl. Add the egg, the melted butter and the remaining 2 tablespoons of cream, 
then add the flour, baking powder and salt and whisk until well blended.
In a large nonstick skillet, melt 1 tablespoon of butter. Ladle 1 tablespoonful of batter per pancake into the skillet to make 6 pancakes. Cook over moderately low heat, turning once, until set, about 3 minutes per side. Repeat with the remaining butter and batter to make 12 pancakes total.
Spoon the creamed corn onto plates. Arrange 3 pancakes on each plate. Top with the smoked salmon and dollop with 
crème fraîche. Top with the caviar, garnish with chives and serve.

Suggested Pairing

Pair this dish with a lively, strawberry-inflected rose Champagne.