An idea for an aperitif to serve to your guests during the holidays? Well, make them smoked salmon puffs. A recipe that is not very easy but thanks to the detailed explanations in this article you will find it rather easy. Cooking the puffs will take you a little time but the smoked salmon filling will take you less than 30 minutes. You can also prepare your puffs the day before, yes why not! In order to have an aperitif made really quickly. So gather the elements below and let's make smoked salmon puffs together.
INGREDIENTS
- 100g flour
- 90 g butter
- 10cl of milk
- 1 lemon
- 5 g sugar
- 4 eggs
- 4 slices of smoked salmon
- 1 sprig of dill
- 250g of fresh cheese
- 100g thick crème fraîche
- Salt
- 250ml of water
- Pepper
Total time
Preparation: 30min Rest: 1h Cooking: 40min
PREPARATION
The cabbages
1
To prepare the cabbage, the first step is to put water, salt, sugar and butter in a saucepan. Let it heat until the butter is sufficiently melted and bring the mixture to a boil.
2
Add the flour only once to the mixture, off the heat of course, and mix with a spatula until you obtain a smooth and homogeneous mixture. You should obtain a voluminous dough that comes away from the sides of the pan. At this stage, you will still need energy, so get ready!
3
The dough is well mixed, it's time to dry it out. Put the pan back on the heat, and let the dough rest, let it dry out over low heat while stirring with a spatula for 5 or 6 minutes. This step is very important because if the dough is not dried out enough, we will have choux buns that will spread out during cooking and will not swell. On the other hand, if the dough is dry enough, we will have choux buns that will swell up and open up during cooking. Here again, your shoulders will have to pay the price! ⇒ To make your task a little easier, you can stir the dough by placing it against the sides of the pan and crushing it to increase the contact surface and this will allow the water to evaporate quickly. The dough is ready when it clumps together into a homogeneous mass when you shake the pan from front to back. The choux pastry therefore becomes a panade, it must therefore be homogeneous and have a satiny texture.
4
Now place the panade in a mixer and then attach the mixer blade, turn it on to cool the dough. You can do this simply using a spatula.
5
Now whisk your eggs in a bowl. Add them to the dough in 3 times while mixing until they are incorporated. By doing this step by hand using a spatula, you will obviously still have to use your muscles. Stir the dough until it has a smooth, shiny and relatively flexible texture. The little trick to know if the dough is perfect is to draw a line with the spatula, if it closes slowly, then you have done a good job.
6
Now it's time to form the choux buns. Use a 12cm diameter metal nozzle that you will place in a piping bag. If you don't have a nozzle, place the piping bag in a glass. Fill the bag with dough using a spatula or a spoon. Bring the dough well to the bottom of the nozzle then close it and place it in the refrigerator for about 1 hour.
7
Now pipe about 2 or 3 cm in diameter onto a baking sheet covered with baking paper, and try to be as regular as possible so as not to have choux buns of different sizes and above all space them out enough because they will swell and take up enough space. ⇒ You can also use a spoon at this stage, so you will have to be very careful if you want to have pretty choux buns.
8
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees and as soon as you put the choux buns in, set it to 180 degrees and cook for about 35 to 40 minutes depending on the size of the choux buns and 10 minutes before the end of cooking, set the oven to 140 degrees. Never open the oven while the choux buns are cooking otherwise they may go down while we want them to be well puffed up. When your choux buns are ready, remove them from the oven and let them cool.
The filling
It's time to make the filling for your choux pastry.
1
In a bowl, mix the cheese and milk and then smooth everything until you get a smooth paste. You can replace the cream cheese with fresh goat cheese.
2
Then add the chopped dill or other herb of your choice, including chives or coriander (parsley). Dill is quite strong so be careful not to add too much.
3
Then add the salmon, cut into small strips. Add salt, pepper (and a few drops of olive oil if you want). Mix everything well. You can also choose to mix your filling in a blender, it's up to you. ⇒ You can leave it in the refrigerator for 20 to 30 minutes
♦Cut the tops of the choux buns with a knife, then garnish with salmon and cover. All you have to do now is decorate them. Serve the aperitif to your guests and they will certainly enjoy it with appetite. Enjoy!