Crespolini di latticello con la salsa del rafano ed i salmoni affumicati
Técnica

Sitting halfway between a starter and a main depending on quantity, these pancakes are sharpened by the crème fraîche and filled out by the salmon.

Buttermilk (babeurre in French, latticello in Italian) is obtained after churning cream. It used to be reccommended as a drink for children and is still popular in Scandinavian countries, and some countries use it in cheese making. Smoked salmon varies in colour and quality, and when buying organic has the best taste, but the most dissapointing colour: during the feeding of non-organic salmon, colouring is added to their food to make them the vivid-orange colour.

Ingredienti:

For the pancakes:

• 250g/9oz of plain flour
• ½ a teaspoon of salt
• ½ a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
• 1½ teaspoons of baking powder
• one medium egg, lightly beaten
• 284ml of buttermilk, approximately half a pint
• 15g/slightly less than 1oz of butter
• 100ml of water, slightly less than ¼ a pint
• one warm oven, to keep the pancakes warm between cooking and serving

Accompaniments:

• three teaspoons of freshly grated horseradish
• 200ml/7floz of crème fraîche
• a generous amount of smoaked salmon, eighteen slices should be enough to serve six people as a starter
• two lemons, cut into wedges
• flat leaf parsley to garnish (adds a bit of crunch to an otherwise soft plate)
• seasoning

Técnica

1. Peel or wash the horseradish, and grate finely and mix with half the crème fraîche, or all if you are sure all participants enjoy the flavour (it is quite a specific taste). Cover and chill.
2. Sift the flour, salt, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda into a bowl, making a small well in the middle, into which you should pour the beaten egg.
3. Beat in the egg, followed by the buttermilk and finally the butter. Now slowly beat in the water, adding a little at a time until the mixture has achieved the consistency of double cream (NB: you may not need to use all the water to get it to this point.)
4. Place a heavy-based frying pan on the heat, and add a little oil. When hot, cook a test pancake by placing a blob of the batter in the pan. Assume it'll take about two minutes to be ready to turn, but have a look at the underside a couple of times, it may be closer to one minute, but turn when it looks golden brown. Repeat until the all the batter is cooked, adding a little more oil from time to time as the pan dries out. As each round of pancakes cooks, place them in the oven to keep warm, either on wire racks (keep the temperature lower) or baking sheets.
   
   Nota Bene: As a main course we expect this to serve approximately four people, and as a starter six. If as a main, honeyed carrots make a good plate-filler, the colour complimenting the salmon, and the crunch padding out the texture.

Goce!

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