My darling wife and I held a dinner party recently. I wanted to create some hors d’oeuvres, which would be not only tasty, but also gluten-free and appealing to the eye. The result was this gluten-free lox canapé. I started the process by creating a thin bread base. Using a good all purpose gluten-free flour (I like Bob’s Red Mill), I mixed together eggs, water, milk, salt, melted butter and lemon juice to make a fairly thin batter. This was actually the most labor-intensive part of this entire process. 

With a hot cast iron griddle over medium heat (you can use whatever you have available, but I find cast iron heats more evenly), I put a nice coat of butter on the griddle and poured the batter to make small, thin pancakes (no more than 3 ½ to 4 inches in diameter). Once these were done, I had a good number of little bread pancakes. They weren’t perfect yet, but I took care of that a bit later. I stacked them on a plate, separating them with parchment paper and refrigerated them for four to six hours.

At the end of this time, I needed to get all the pieces uniform in size and shape, so using a cutting board and a drinking glass that was 2 ½ inches in diameter, I cut each piece into a perfect circle.

Now that I had the bases done, all that remained was the simple process of building the canapés. I began with a good quality, thinly sliced lox (Smoked Salmon) on the pancake. Then I added a small dollop (Yes, it is an actual measurement) of sour cream. For a bit of flair, you can do what I did and use a pastry decorating tube with a star tip.

I topped it off by adding a small sprig of dill and a caper. Capers are a wonderful accent to many a dish, in my opinion. These dark green buds are sun-dried and then packed in vinegar brine. Originating in the Mediterranean, capers are now known the world over in gourmet cuisine.

The result was phenomenal. Next time I’ll need to make more, because they were the first appetizers to run out.

Happy eating, everyone!

Gluten Free Lox Canapé Bread Base

1 Cup Gluten Free All Purpose Flour
1 Egg, large
2/3 Cup Water
2/3 Cup Milk
Scant pinch of salt
2 Tbsp Melted Butter
2 Tbsp Lemon Juice

Mix all ingredients together until you have a smooth thin batter. Grease a hot griddle with butter. Using a large tablespoon, spoon small amounts of batter onto the griddle no more than 3 ½ to 4 inches in diameter. Once lightly brown on both sides separate with parchment paper and refrigerate for four to six hours.

Remove from refrigerator and cut into circles using a juice glass. Assemble the canapé’s according to the instructions above and enjoy.