This dish is both light and delicate. The pairing of fresh herbs with velvety crème fraîche on a crust with a crisp outside and fluffy middle, then topped with beautiful smoked salmon and a pop of color from the slightly sweet red onion and savory capers, makes for a beautiful appetizer. This is great for any Friday night happy hour, or a wonderful addition to an Easter spread.

You can use store-bought dough, but I highly recommend making your own. It’s very simple to make and only takes four ingredients, plus water. For years, I’ve used a Giada de Laurentiis recipe for my pizza dough. Depending on the weather, sometimes I need to tweak the amount of flour, based on the humidity.

Recipe:

For the dough:

• 2 ¼ cups flour (I recommend a 00 pizza flour – I used Bob’s Red Mill)
• 1 tsp yeast
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp honey
• 1 cup very warm water

To one cup of warm water, add the yeast and honey. Mix and let rest until it bubbles, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, in the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, add the flour and salt, and mix. Once the yeast mixture is ready, while the mixer is running, slowly add it to the flour and mix until it begins to come together to form a ball. Switch to a dough hook, and mix until it pulls away from the sides of the bowl and forms a soft, pillowy dough ball. Drizzle olive oil into a separate bowl and transfer the dough ball. Cover the bowl with a cloth. Let rise in a warm spot for at least 30 minutes, I usually let it rise for 1-2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Once the dough has risen, roll it out to the size of the baking sheet and transfer it to the sheet. Lightly poke holes throughout and drizzle with olive oil. Bake for 15 minutes, checking half way through for bubbles. If any bubbles form, simply poke them with a fork to release air. Let cool completely.

• 5 oz crème fraîche
• 3 Tbsp chives, chopped
• 3 Tbsp dill, chopped
• Zest of 1 lemon
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp garlic powder

Mix all of the above ingredients together and once flatbread crust is cooled, spread the crème fraîche over the top of the crust, leaving a 1” border.

Top with the following:

• 4 oz smoked salmon
• 2 Tbsp capers
• Red onion slices (1/4 of a red onion)
• Dill and chives as a garnish

Cut into small squares. Serve immediately and enjoy!