Steve McIntyre	Smoked Trout Pancake

Below are two versions of Balaban's smoked trout pancake recipe, compliments of David Timney and Steve McIntyre.

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Smoked Trout with Horseradish on Corn Pancakes

Source: David Timney, Great Meals of St. Louis, 1996

Yield: 4 servings

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Ingredients

Smoked Trout and Horseradish Topping

• 3/4 cup smoked trout, broken into bite-sized pieces

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise

• 1/4 cup horseradish, drained

Corn Pancakes (8 pancakes)

• 2 cups corn (approximately 2-4 ears, husked and blanched, using kernels)

• 1/2 cup milk

• 3 large eggs

• 1/2 cup semolina

• 1/2 cup red onion, finely diced

• 1/4 cup chives or scallions, chopped

• 2 tsp olive oil

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 1/2 tsp finely ground black pepper

• 1 tsp baking powder

• 1/8 cup chives, chopped (garnish)

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Preparation

Combine smoked trout pieces, mayonnaise and horseradish in bowl. Gently fold together until trout pieces are covered. Set topping aside.

Combine half the corn and all of the milk in blender. Puree, then strain mixture through fine strainer or chinois. Set aside. Beat eggs in medium bowl until well blended. Add pureed corn to eggs.

Stir in semolina, red onion, chives or scallions, half the olive oil, salt, pepper, remaining corn and baking powder.

Put remaining olive oil in non-stick skillet. Heat on low. Once oil becomes slightly hot, add 1/4 cup batter per pancake. When bubbles form, flip pancake and brown. You may use more oil if needed to finish cooking pancakes.

Remove pancakes from heat and place on serving dish. Divide trout mixture evenly on top of pancakes. Sprinkle with fresh chives to garnish.

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Balaban's Smoked Trout Pancake

Source: Steve McIntyre, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 25, 2012

Yield: 16 large pancakes

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Ingredients

For smoked trout:

• 2 lb smoked trout

• 2 cups mayonnaise

• 2/3 cup sour cream

• 4 Tbsp horseradish

• 1 Tbsp lemon juice

• 1–3 healthy dashes Tabasco

• 1 dash Worcestershire

• Salt to taste

• White pepper to taste

For pancakes:

• 2 1/2 cups fresh corn cut off the cob

• 1 cup half-and-half, divided

• 3 large eggs

• 1 cup semolina

• 4 Tbsp (1/2 stick) butter, melted

• 2 Tbsp finely diced red onion

• 2 Tbsp chopped chives

• 1 1/8 tsp baking powder

• 1 1/2 tsp salt

• 1/4 tsp white pepper

• Butter, for frying, 1 Tbsp per pancake

• Chopped chives, for garnish

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Preparation

Mix smoked trout. Break (do not mash) trout into small chunks. Combine mayonnaise, sour cream, horseradish, lemon juice, Tabasco, Worcestershire, salt and white pepper in a large bowl. Stir in smoked trout. Cover and refrigerate.

Mix pancake batter. In a blender or food processor, puree half the corn with one-half the half-and-half until smooth. Strain through a chinois, preferably, or a fine-mesh strainer into a bowl, discarding the solids.

In a large bowl, beat eggs well. Stir in strained corn mixture, remaining corn kernels and remaining half-and-half. Stir in semolina, butter, red onion, chives, baking powder, salt and white pepper just until combined. Pancake mixture may be mixed ahead of time and refrigerated for up to a week.

Make pancakes. In a nonstick or well-seasoned skillet, melt 1 tablespoon butter until it sizzles. Measure ¼ cup batter and let spread naturally (pancake will be quite thick). Let pancake cook until golden and edges are crisp on one side, flip and cook until golden and crisp on the other. Repeat with remaining pancakes.

To serve Balaban’s-style, place a pancake on a serving plate, top with 1/3 cup smoked trout. Sprinkle with chopped chives.