The only thing better than bagels and lox at brunch? This Lox and Schmear Tart created by Washington Post food writer Cathy Barrow.
It’s one of more than 60 new recipes in Barrow’s cookbook, “When Pies Fly: Handmade Pastries from Strudels to Stromboli, Empanadas to Knishes” (Grand Central Publishing, $30), which came out this fall. You’ll find everything in here from a Pear, Sweet Potato and Pistachio Strudel to Fresh Apricot Breakfast Pastries, Quiche Loretta and Bacon, Egg and Swiss Hand Pies. Plus this brunch-perfect tart, inspired by everyone’s favorite breakfast fare.
This Lox and Schmear Tart mounds smoked salmon, tomatoes and chives on a tender, buttery pastry crust — that’s been spiked with an Everything-but-the-Bagel spice mix, of course.
“I like to shape this like an actual bagel, round with a hole in the center, with small bagel-shaped cutouts skirting the edge,” Barrow says. “It’s fun and silly and delicious all at once, and it demands a Bloody Mary and half-sour pickle as an accompaniment.”
Sunday’s Lox and Schmear Tart
Serves 8
Ingredients
1 recipe Everything Spice Pie Dough (see recipe below), formed into a disk
Egg wash: 1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon cool water and ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ cup finely chopped red onion
¼ cup cool water
4 tablespoons cream cheese
¼ cup sliced scallions, white and green parts (about 2)
3 tablespoons snipped fresh chives, plus extra for garnish
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
1 baseball-sized (8 ounce) perfectly ripe tomato, thinly sliced or chopped and drained
4 ounces Nova lox or smoked salmon, cut in slivers
1 tablespoon capers, rinsed
1 lemon, sliced into 8 wedges
Directions
Line a baking sheet with parchment. Lightly dust the counter with flour and roll the dough into a 12-inch round. With a paring knife or pizza wheel, trim to a 10-inch round. Transfer the dough to the baking sheet and adjust the shape as needed.
Using a glass or 3-inch round cookie cutter, cut out a circle from the center, so the tart shell looks like an oversized bagel. With a small round cutter (like the large end of a pastry tip), cut out small rounds from the dough trimmings, then make tiny holes in the centers (with a skewer or the small end of the pastry tip) to make small bagel shapes.
Pierce the dough all over with a fork. Brush the edge of the bagel circle with egg wash and arrange the tiny bagels decoratively along the edge. Brush with egg wash. Chill for 20 to 30 minutes.
Place a baking stone or inverted baking sheet on the center oven rack and heat the oven to 400 degrees.
Spray a sheet of foil or parchment with cooking spray; place it on top of the unbaked crust, greased-side down. Fill the center generously with pie weights or uncooked beans, keeping the decorated edges free of the weights. Bake with the weights for 20 minutes, until golden brown and crisp on the edges.
Carefully remove the paper holding the weights and pop the pastry back in the oven to dry out the pie crust, about 10 more minutes. Cool the crust in the pan. It may be baked a few hours or even a day in advance and kept covered on the counter. Do not refrigerate.
For the filling: In a small bowl, combine the onion and water and let soak for at least 5 minutes to remove any sharpness. In a medium bowl, use a sturdy spoon to beat the cream cheese until lightened, then add the scallions, chives, parsley, lemon juice and salt and mix well.
Drain the onions and dry them well on a paper towel. Use an offset spatula to spread the cream cheese mixture across the tart shell. Arrange the tomato all around. Mound the slivered salmon over the tomato. Top with the red onion and capers, garnish with chives, and serve with lemon wedges.
Everything Spice Pie Dough
Ingredients
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed and frozen for 20 minutes
1 tablespoon Everything Spice Mix (recipe follows)
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
¼ cup ice water
Using a food processor fitted with the metal blade, combine the flour, butter, spice mix and salt, using the pulse function to cut the flour and butter into flour-covered pea-sized pieces, about 15 quick pulses. Add the ice water all at once and process until the dough almost comes together in a ball. All the flour will be dampened and the dough will clump.
On your work surface, form an X with two long pieces of overlapping plastic wrap; lightly flour the surface. Dump the dough in the center, form it into a 4-inch disk and wrap it in plastic. Use a rolling pin to gently smooth the dough’s surface; flip the disc and repeat. Now let it rest: Refrigerate the dough for at least 4 hours or overnight. (The dough can be frozen in a zip-top bag for up to 3 months. Defrost in the refrigerator overnight before using.)
Everything Spice Mix
Makes about ¼ cup
Ingredients
2 tablespoons poppy seeds
2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
1 tablespoon dried minced onion
2 teaspoons dried minced garlic
2 teaspoons Maldon salt or coarse fleur de sel
Directions: In a small jar, mix the poppy and sesame seeds, onion, garlic and salt. Store in the refrigerator.
— Excerpted from “When Pies Fly: Handmade Pastries from Strudels to Stromboli, Empanadas to Knishes” © 2019 by Cathy Barrow. Reprinted with permission from Grand Central Publishing. All rights reserved.
