Smoked Whitefish Salad With Crème Fraîche and Capers

Recipe from Peck’s

Adapted by Julia Moskin

Total Time
30 minutes, plus up to 2 hours’ refrigeration
Rating
4(139)
Comments
Read comments

Whitefish salad is a necessity at traditional Jewish "appetizing" stores like Barney Greengrass and Russ & Daughters, which traditionally stock smoked and pickled fish, cheese, bagels and bialys, halvah and other small luxuries. According to strict kosher law, meat and dairy cannot be made in the same kitchen: Jewish butchers and delis traditionally supplied the meat, while appetizing stores sold dairy products. Fish can be paired with either. That's why you'll never see a Reuben sandwich at a truly authentic Jewish deli.

Theo Peck, the owner of Peck's, a cafe in Brooklyn, is a trained chef and a descendant of the family that owned Ratner's, a famous Jewish restaurant on the Lower East Side. His version replaces mayonnaise with crème fraîche, and adds bright notes of capers and fresh herbs. —Julia Moskin

Featured in: Everything New Is Old Again

  • or to save this recipe.

  • Subscriber benefit: give recipes to anyone
    As a subscriber, you have 10 gift recipes to give each month. Anyone can view them - even nonsubscribers. Learn more.
    Subscribe

  • Print Options

Advertisement

Ingredients

Yield:4 to 6 servings
  • 1small whole smoked whitefish, about 1 pound, or 12 ounces smoked trout, cod or sturgeon fillets
  • 1cup (8 ounces) crème fraîche
  • 2tablespoons finely chopped red onion, more to taste
  • 1teaspoon Dijon mustard, more to taste
  • 2tablespoons drained capers
  • ¼cup finely chopped dill
  • ¼cup finely chopped parsley
  • ½teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, more to taste
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)

94 calories; 8 grams fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 2 grams monounsaturated fat; 0 grams polyunsaturated fat; 3 grams carbohydrates; 0 grams dietary fiber; 1 gram sugars; 3 grams protein; 98 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

Powered by
Cooking Newsletter illustration

Opt out or contact us anytime. See our Privacy Policy.

Opt out or contact us anytime. See our Privacy Policy.

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Using your fingers, pick the meat off the skeleton of the fish, shredding it into a bowl. Discard bones and skin. If using fillets, use your fingers to coarsely shred the meat.

  2. Step 2

    In a separate bowl, whisk together remaining ingredients. Gently fold fish into cream mixture until well combined. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes or up to 2 hours.

  3. Step 3

    Before serving, taste and add more onion, mustard or pepper if needed.

Ratings

4 out of 5
139 user ratings
Your rating

or to rate this recipe.

Have you cooked this?

or to mark this recipe as cooked.

Private Notes

Leave a Private Comment on this recipe and see it here.

Comments

Steve Hanegan

Living in the Pacific Northwest, any lake fish is a bit hard to come by (but 842 ways to cook the different kinds of salmon...), so I was thrilled when I saw some actual smoked whitefish in Costco... this came home INSTANTLY to be used in this recipe as a treat for my ex-Manhattan-ite wife. Some weeks later, my wife was in NY and brought me back some smoked whitefish salad from Zabars - this may seem heretical, but I think that this recipe is far better!

Hollis

Just made this with delectable smoked trout. Instead of red onion, I used shallots and very young delicious scallions, all finely chopped. For some serious crunch, I added finely diced radishes, and skipped the capers this time. I used organic greek yogurt -- very rich tasting -- in place of the crème fraiche, which worked quite well. Lots of freshly ground black pepper too! So many ways to vary this recipe. The parseley really brightens it up. YUM!

CS

OMG this is soooo good. Added parsley and it did brighten up the flavor. Dijon mustard was fantastic.

Annie

This is a good base recipe. I added a some fresh lemon juice to brighten and did not proceed with the parsley as it took it in an herby direction that to me, conflicted with the silky smokey lush taste. With that richness, it does beg to be served with some brightly dressed arugula and crispy toasts. Love it!

Barbara

I reduced the creme fraiche by half. That poor whitefish swam all his life to get to my table- so I dont want him swimming in creme fraiche now. LOL! I skipped the mustard and used lemon juice instead and added (to taste) white horseradish. The lemon just gives it a nice freshness.

Private comments are only visible to you.

Credits

Adapted from Peck’s, New York

Recipe Tags

Advertisement

or to save this recipe.