I’m home this weekend for the Passover holiday aka “no carb week,” and many of my memories revolve around food. Since I grew up in New York City, Sunday mornings in our house usually consisted of bagels, lox, cream cheese, whitefish and more appetizing if company was coming. I was inspired to share my recipe for a modern twist one the classic bagel and lox sandwich.

 Lox is simply smoked salmon that has also been cured. It’s usually salty, and is a New York classic. My pizza recipe will help you stretch your lox farther, and this is a great dish to entertain with. Your guests will be so impressed with your creativity! 😉 Salmon, dill, lemon and creme fraiche come together to form an elegant dish that’s great for brunch, dinner or any time of the day!

Ingredients:

1 ball of pizza dough – you can make your own dough, but I find it easier to buy premade dough from the grocery store. You can also ask your local pizza place for a ball of dough, if you really love their crust. Most will sell it to you with no problem

1 container of crème fraiche

1 large lemon

2 tablespoons of capers, drained

1 medium to large shallot, chopped

 4-6oz of smoked salmon, roughly chopped

Fresh dill, chopped

Sesame seeds

Granulated garlic or garlic powder

To Make the Pizza:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees, and if using a pizza stone, place it in the oven
2. Grease your pizza pan with cooking spray all over
3. In the meantime, stretch the dough by hand. Slowly start pulling the dough outward
4. After it is stretched a bit, then use both hand and pass the dough through your hands, and slowly pull it a bit as you pass it through. It might feel like it will break, but the dough is strong, just keep going until its much wider
5. Once the dough is very stretched, place it on your pizza pan and stretch it out to the edge. If it springs back, then use your fingers to push into the dough all over to keep it steady. In addition, poke it all over with a fork to stop it from rising too much in the oven. You want pizza, not bread!
6. Once the dough is stretched to the edge of the pan, pour 1 tablespoon of olive oil over the top and make sure the whole top of the pizza has a light coating of oil
7. Sprinkle the dough with garlic—use as much as you want, but I don’t recommend any more than a fine layer all over since it will overpower the salmon
8. (Optional) On the outer edge of the dough, where the crust forms, sprinkle a layer of sesame seeds–this step is optional, but it’s a nod to the bagel inspiration behind this pizza. I like sesame bagels, but this would be great with some poppy seeds, and delicious with some eveeything seasoning if your local bagelry will part with some 
9. Pop the dough into the oven and bake for 10-12 minutes  
10. Remove the pizza crust and allow it to cool for at least 15-20 minutes. You might want to put it in the refrigerator or freezer for a few minutes if you’re in a rush  
11. Once the crust has cooled, zest the lemon and add it to the crème fraiche. Mix well to evenly distribute  
12. Spread the crème fraiche mixture all over the crust, leaving the sesame seed lined crust as a border of the pizza
13. Sprinkle the pizza with some salt and a good amount of freshly ground black pepper  
14. Allow the crème fraiche to set, and then spread your pieces of smoked salmon around the pizza. A nice single layer is best and will make sure your crust can hold all of the ingredients  
15. Drain the capers, and sprinkle around the pizza—they will most likely fall into the crevices between the salmon pieces  
16. Repeat this process with the chopped shallots—I like shallots since they’re not as strong as onions in terms of flavor, but give a nice onion-y flavor to the pizza. If you want a more mild onion taste, then chopped scallions are a good substitute. If you want something with a little more of a bite, then red onion is always great as well—just remember, raw onion is not as sweet or mild as cooked
17. Scatter the dill all over the pizza. If some pieces are smaller or larger than others, that’s fine. I like my pizza a little more rustic, since it shows that it’s homemade!
18. Add another pinch of black pepper and squeeze the juice of ½ of the lemon over the top  
19. Use a pizza cutter, or a very sharp chef’s knife, to cut the pizza into 8 pieces    

Serve garnished with the other ½ of the lemon cut into wedges. Enjoy!