There were a couple reasons I was drawn to this Smoked Salmon, Labneh & Potatoes recipe. It evoked memories of special people, both old and new, involving my family. My mom and my mother-in-law to be specific, as well as my uncle. Technically uncle-in-law, but I’m not sure that “in-law” part matters outside of a family tree. Let me explain…
The topping made me think of my mom and a long ago vacation. You see, my all time favorite breakfast is a bagel with cream cheese, smoked salmon, capers, and red onions. It’s something I can’t pass up, especially when I’m on vacation. I guess because the first time I tried it was when I was on a trip with Mom. We were in the North Carolina Mountains at a Swiss chalet themed resort. It was magical!
The potato pancake base triggered the more recent memory. It made me think ff latkes which are traditional Jewish potato pancakes. I had never tried latkes until got married (my husband is Jewish). My mother-in-law made them for a holiday meal, and I loved them! Unfortunately, she burned herself badly with splashed cooking oil, and we didn’t allow her to make latkes again for a long time. But I’m happy to say she has resumed making latkes with no burns since.
And finally, a memory of this past Thanksgiving with my uncle-in-law. He is of Lebanese descent, so I decided to make him these Za’atar Spring Rolls with fresh Labneh. He loved them, and we had a good time talking while we enjoyed them—he is quite the story-teller! I gave his wife the recipes, and she later told me he likes to eat the labneh on toast for breakfast.
Crispy Potatoes, Smoked Salmon & Labneh…I want to call it rösti but not sure if that’s accurate 🙈. Either way, this was so good!!
The Ingredients
I pretty much had to buy everything for this Smoked Salmon, Labneh & Potatoes recipe. I had olive oil, butter, and pepper. That left half a dozen or so items to buy, but my regular grocery store had them all in stock. I even managed to save a few dollars by using the dill I grew in my AeroGarden.
The ingredients list smoked salmon as a topping but didn’t specify what kind. Most people call smoked salmon lox, but I prefer nova. Why? Nova is smokier and isn’t as salty. Lox are salt-cured or brined but not smoked. Read more about Nova vs. Lox.
The ingredients list also gives the option of using labneh or creme fraiche as a topping. I chose to make the labneh since it’s a simple 3-ingredient recipe: Greek yogurt, lemon, and salt. I made it 2 days before this so it was ready to go.
The Process
This recipe was posted as a Pinterest video pin. It had some text with it, but there was no printable version (I looked on the author’s site and couldn’t find it). This was a first for me—I have never reviewed a recipe in this format. I’m used to recipes having a blog post with helpful hints plus a printable recipe.
I like to have a printable version when I cook, so I had to watch the video over and over again and write the steps in my recipe software. I pasted in the list of ingredients and steps that accompanied the video pin, but the instructions were incomplete when compared to the video.
Missing Steps
Prepping the potatoes was the first missing step I noticed. The video shows the peeled potatoes being shredded, then the shreds being placed into a piece of cheesecloth, and that squeezed to remove excess moisture. Then the squeezed shreds are placed into a mixing bowl and mixed with melted butter, olive oil, salt, and pepper. None of this was in the text.
Tip: The video shows the potatoes being shredded in a food processor, but mine doesn’t shred. Instead, I used my mandoline with the shredding plate to manually shred the potatoes. It took me almost 10 minutes, but I was able to do it!
Step 1 picks up after the potatoes are prepped with preheating a cast-iron skillet with more olive oil. Then you add the potatoes, shape them into a pancake, and (Step 2) gently press down with a spatula. I’m assuming that last part helps the potatoes hold together.
Step 3 says to cook for 12-15 minutes per side on medium-high. I had a bad feeling about that one and decided to set my electric stove on #3 (out of 10). Even with the low setting, the potatoes seemed burnt after I flipped them at the 12-minute mark. I lowered the time to 9 minutes and the heat to #1 for the second side, and it came out much better—well browned but not burnt.
Timing
I had plenty of time to prep the topping while the potatoes cooked. Everything was chopped and sliced before the first side of the potatoes were done, so I was able to add them as soon as the potatoes finished cooking. Here’s how my time broke down:
- 19 minutes to prep
- 21 minutes to cook
- 40 minutes total
The recipe pin listed a total time of 45 minutes and was spot-on.
The Smoked Salmon, Labneh & Potatoes Recipe
Smoked Salmon, Labneh & Potatoes
Ingredients
- 2-3 large Yukon gold potatoes peeled and shredded
- 1 Tbsp butter melted
- 2 Tbsp olive oil divided
- 1 Tbsp butter
- salt and pepper to taste
Toppings (all to taste):
- labneh or creme fraiche *see notes
- smoked salmon
- capers
- red onion thinly sliced
- fresh chives minced
- fresh dill minced
- black pepper
Instructions
- Place shredded potatoes into a piece of cheesecloth. Draw up the corners and squeeze to remove excess moisture.
- Place shredded potatoes in a mixing bowl. Add melted butter, 1 tablespoon olive oil, salt, and pepper and mix well.
- Add remaining tablespoon of olive oil and butter to a preheated cast iron skillet.
- Add the potatoes to the skillet and shape into a thin pancake. Gently press it with the spatula but don't over press.
- Cook for about 10-15 minutes per side on low to medium low.
- Place finished potato pancake on to a plate to serve. Top it with the labneh, smoked salmon, capers, red onion, chives, dill, more olive oil, & pepper. Slice into wedges and enjoy.
