Smoked salmon galettes

Making traditional flaky puff pastry by hand is a technical labour of love. One of my jobs at Michel Rostang’s 2 Michelin star restaurant in Paris was just that, carefully making the dough and preparing the butter followed by hours of precise rolling and folding to create the unique layering. We used the pastry to make a delicious crisp pastry galette topped with wafer-thin slices of rich smoked salmon. This is my version of Michel’s salmon that you can make easily at home; the tricky part has already been done, thanks to Paneton’s authentic flaky puff pastry, made right here in New Zealand.

Ingredients

1 sheet	Flaky puff pastry, I use Paneton
1	Egg
1 Tbsp	Milk
1 Tbsp	Olive oil
6	Shallots, finely sliced
½ cup	Creme fraiche
1 Tbsp	Fresh dill, finely sliced
1 tsp	Lime juice
6	Baby potatoes, boiled, peeled and sliced
12 slices	Smoked salmon

Directions

1. Heat the oven to 210C.
2. Put the pastry sheet on a baking tray and place in the freezer for 20 minutes; this will make it easier to handle and cut neat straight lines.
3. Cut six rectangles of pastry measuring 12 x 12cm, place them on a non-stick baking sheet then make a second cut, 1.5cm in from the edge to form a "frame". Do not cut all the way through the pastry.
4. Make an egg wash by the whisking the egg and milk together. Brush this carefully just on the top of the frame, taking care not to brush sides as this will prevent the pastry puffing up. Use a fork to make lots of holes evenly across the centre of the pastry.
5. Bake for 15 minutes until puffed up, crisp and golden.
6. Place olive oil in a saucepan and gently fry the shallots, but do not allow to colour. Season to taste with a little flaky sea salt.
7. Mix the creme fraiche with dill and lime juice. Toss the potatoes in a bowl with a little olive oil and flaky sea salt.
8. Fill the pastry galettes with potatoes, shallots and slices of smoked salmon then spoon creme fraiche on top and garnish with extra dill.