A Wolfgang Puck Classic: Smoked Salmon Pizza With Dill Creme Fraiche

Our dear friend Greg from Sippity Sup was recently waxing poetic about Wolfgang Puck’s original Spago restaurant in Hollywood, and we were reminded of his delicious classic Smoked Salmon Pizza, a signature dish during the restaurants heyday in the 80’s.   We only had it once, at one of his restaurants in Denver, but still recall the beautiful contrast of the smokey savory salmon with the sweet caramelized red onions and dill crème fraîche.  Thanks to the good people from Wolfgang Puck, we are sharing the original restaurant recipe with you today. Serve it for brunch or dinner, or cut into small slices and serve as a party appetizer. (PS: Oprah has a great video featuring the chef preparing this in a restaurant kitchen, you may view it here.)

Read on for the recipe

Pizza With Smoked Salmon and Caviar
Chef Wolfgang Puck
Serves 4 (Makes 1 12 inch large pizza)

* 12 ounces Pizza Dough (recipe to follow) Pressed for time? Use frozen premade dough.
* 6 tsp of Chili and Garlic Oil (recipe to follow), or…you may simply use olive oil
* 1/2 cup of thinly sliced red onion
* 4 tablespoons of Dill Cream (recipe to follow)
* 5 ounces sliced smoked salmon
* 2 teaspoons of chopped fresh chives
* 6 teaspoons of Sevruga caviar, optional

1. Place a pizza stone on the middle rack of the oven and preheat the oven to 500°F.
2. On a lightly floured surface, stretch or roll out the dough into an 8- inch circle, with the outer edge a little thicker than the inner circle. Brush the dough with the oil and arrange the onions over the pizza. Slide a pizza paddle or rimless baking sheet under the pizza and then slide the pizza onto the pizza stone. Bake until the crust is golden brown, 6 to 8 minutes.
3. With the pizza paddle or a large spatula, carefully remove the pizza from the oven and set it on a cutting board. Use a knife, an icing spatula, or the back of a spoon to spread the Dill Cream over the inner circle. Arrange the slices of salmon so that they cover the entire pizza, slightly overlapping the raised rim. Sprinkle the chopped chives over the salmon. Using a pizza cutter or a large sharp knife, cut the pizza into 4 or 6 slices. If you like, spoon a little caviar in the center of each slice. Serve immediately.

Dill Cream

* 1 1/2 cups Sour cream
* 3 tablespoons Minced shallots
* 2 tablespoons Fresh dill leaves, chopped
* 1 1/2 tablespoons Fresh lemon juice
* 1/4 teaspoon Freshly ground white pepper

1. In a medium bowl, combine all the ingredients and mix well.
2. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use. Extras will last in the refrigerator for up to one week, and are delicious on potatoes as well.

Note that the pizza dough recipe will make enough dough for 2 12 inch pizzas, so if you are only making one pizza, freeze the remaining dough, it will last for up to 2 months in the freezer. Alternatively you can refrigerate it for up to 2 days.

Pizza Dough:

* 1 packet of active dry or fresh yeast
* 1 teaspoon of honey
* 1 cups of warm water (105º F to 115º F)
* 3 cups of all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon of kosher salt
* 1 tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing

In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast and honey in 1/4 cup of the warm water.

In a mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine the flour and the salt. Add the oil, yeast mixture, and the remaining 3/4 cup of water and mix on low speed until the dough comes cleanly away from the sides of the bowl and clusters around the dough hook, about 5 minutes. (The pizza dough can also be made in a food processor. Dissolve the yeast as above. Combine the flour and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Pulse once or twice, add the remaining ingredients, and process until the dough begins to form a ball.)

Turn the dough out onto a clean work surface and knead by hand 2 or 3 minutes longer. The dough should be smooth and firm. Cover the dough with a clean, damp towel and let it rise in a warm spot for about 30 minutes. (When ready, the dough will stretch as it is lightly pulled.)

Place a pizza stone on the middle rack of the oven and preheat the oven to 500º F.

Divide the dough into 4 balls, about 6 ounces each. Work each ball by pulling down the sides and tucking under the bottom of the ball. Repeat 4 or 5 times. Then on a smooth, unfloured surface, roll the ball under the palm of your hand until the top of the dough is smooth and firm, about 1 minute. Cover the dough with a damp towel and let it rest for 15 to 20 minutes. At this point, the balls can be wrapped in plastic and refrigerated for up to 2 days.

To prepare each pizza, dip the ball of dough into flour, shake off the excess flour, place the dough on a clean, lightly floured surface, and start to stretch the dough. Press down on the center, spreading the dough into an 8-inch circle, with outer border a little thicker than the inner circle. If you find this difficult to do, use a small rolling pin to roll out the dough. Lightly brush the inner circle of the dough with oil and arrange the toppings of your choice over the inner circle.

Using a lightly floured baker’s peel or a rimless flat baking tray, slide the pizza onto the baking stone.

Chili and Garlic Oil

* 1 Whole head garlic (about 2 ½ ounces, cloves separated and peeled)
* 2 cups of Extra virgin olive oil
* 1 tablespoon of Red pepper flakes

1. In a small saucepan, combine the garlic cloves and olive oil. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to maintain a bare simmer and cook until the garlic turns golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes. Keep a close watch: If the garlic gets too dark, the oil will have a bitter taste.
2. Let the oil cool, then stir in the red pepper flakes. Leave at room temperature for at least 2 hours to let the flavors blend. Strain the oil into a clean glass container, cover, and refrigerate for up to 3 weeks. You may also use this recipe to saute ingredients for pasta dishes.