Potato Cakes with Smoked Salmon

Irish potato cakes, or farls, make a delicious base for these smoked salmon, cream cheese and caperberry canapés - simply slice into squares and serve

Bake the jacket potatoes up to 2 days ahead and store in the fridge. Once you've baked the potato base, you can leave it in the fridge overnight too. Simply prepare the topping before serving.

The quantities can be fairly easily halved for a smaller batch.

Yield:
makes 30 small pieces
Category:
Appetizers
Cuisine:
British
Prep Time:
30 min
Cooking Time:
2 hrs 0 min
Total Time:
2 hrs 50 min

INGREDIENTS:

  • For the potato cakes:
  • 1kg baking potatoes
  • 100g butter, melted
  • 100g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
  • 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • For the topping:
  • 280g tub full-fat cream cheese
  • 100ml double cream
  • zest and juice 1 lemon
  • 200g pack smoked salmon slices, cut into strips
  • small bunch dill, fronds picked
  • 50g caperberries, halved

DIRECTIONS:

  1. Heat oven to 220C/425F. Prick the potatoes all over with a fork, then bake whole for 1 hr 20 mins or until crisp on the outside and fluffy inside. Set aside on a wire rack to cool. Reduce oven to 180C/350F.
  2. Once the potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut in half and scoop out the flesh into a large bowl, discarding the skins. Mash the potato really well, then mix in two-thirds of the melted butter, all the flour and the bicarbonate of soda. Season well.
  3. Line a large (approx 35 x 25cm) baking tray with a piece of baking parchment and brush with half the remaining butter. Roll out the potato dough on a floured surface, then lay it on the lined baking tray – don’t worry if it breaks, just push the pieces back together once on the tray. Brush the dough with the remaining melted butter and bake for 45 mins or until golden brown on the outside.
  4. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the tray. Meanwhile, put the cream cheese in a large bowl and whisk until smooth and light. Stir in the double cream and lemon juice, and season well with black pepper. Spread the cream cheese mixture all over the surface of the cooled potato cake. Use a large, sharp knife to cut the potato cake into 30 squares, then top with the strips of salmon, the dill fronds, caperberries and lemon zest. Transfer to a serving platter and serve.

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