Welcome to day 1 of Brunch Week! Thanks go out to Christie from A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures for hosting our blogging group for #BrunchWeek! Don’t forget to scroll to the end to see all this great brunch idea links!

I made these Smoked Trout Polenta Canapés with baked polenta crostini spread with black garlic cream cheese. Topped with flaked smoked trout, rehydrated sun dried tomatoes and capers. Sun dried tomato tuiles added for garnish! An elegant yet easy appetizer to wow your brunch guests!

Here’s the breakdown!

So what’s a canapé?

A canapé may also be referred to as finger food, although not all finger foods are canapés. Crackers or small slices of bread or toast or puff pastry, cut into various shapes, serve as the base for savory butters or pastes, often topped with a savory foods as meat, cheese, fish, caviar, foie gras, purées or relish. (definition courtesy of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canapé)

I wanted to do something different than a base of bread or crackers. I’ve been a polenta fan from way back and love to eat it several ways.

One of those ways is fried. Making your own polenta let’s you control the texture. That’s important when you fry it or bake it.

For these polenta crostini I left out cheese and made a thick, spreadable texture. Once the polenta is cooked, spread it out on a parchment lined cooking sheet to about 1/4 to 1/2-inch thickness. If you have trouble spreading it, you can cover the polenta with a parchment sheet and press it down with another cooking sheet.

Chill at least an hour, then you can cut out the desired sizes. For canapés, try to keep the circles under 1 1/2 inches.

Bake at 375 degrees until polenta starts to brown (10 to 12 minutes). You can also give the crostini a quick shot under the broiler to brown it if baking doesn’t brown it in under 12 minutes. You want to keep the inside a bit soft.

I’m lucky to have a friend that smokes his own trout. Thanks Joe!

You can use smoked salmon not lox, smoked whitefish or even smoked sardines for a similar flavor.

If you can’t find black garlic in stores, try online. I get it at Wegman’s but try Whole Foods and even Walmart online.

Mixed with cream cheese, black garlic brings a touch of sweetness. I can compare it to how onions sweeten when caramelized.

You want to save the water from rehydrating the sun dried tomatoes to make tuiles.

These crunchy, lacey food decorations are easy to make. All you need is a ratio of 2 parts fat, 2 parts liquid and 1 part flour. These decorative tuiles are not the sweet cookie version. Using the water from rehydrating the sun dried tomatoes produces a tomato flavor and delicate crunch.

Smoked Trout Polenta Canapés

5 from 1 vote

Print Recipe

Servings 12 canapés

Ingredients

1 cup flaked trout or similar smoked fish
1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes
1 cup warm water

polenta

1/2 cup corn meal
1 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable broth

cream cheese spread

4 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 cloves black garlic
1/16 teaspoon salt

tuiles batter

2 tablespoons water from sundried tomatoes
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 tablespoon flour
capers for garnish

Instructions

Soak sun dried tomatoes in warm water for about 30 minutes or until rehydrated. Remove tomatoes and refrigerate until use. Reserve the water for tuiles.

tuiles

Whisk together 2 tablespoons sundried tomato water with 2 tablespoons melted butter and 1 tablespoon flour to form a loose batter. Heat a non-stick skillet over medium-low heat for about a minute. Drop 1 teaspoon of batter onto hot skillet. Be careful of splashing. Cook batter until it starts to firm up. As the water evaporates, the holes form. Carefully remove tuiles from pan with a spatula and drain on paper towel to cool.

polenta

Bring broth and polenta to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat and cook, whisking constantly for about 5 minutes until polenta is smooth and thickened.
Once the polenta is cooked, spread it out on a parchment lined cooking sheet to about 1/4 to 1/2-inch thickness. If you have trouble spreading it, you can cover the polenta with a parchment sheet and press it down with another cooking sheet. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour. Cut cold polenta into pieces approximately 1 1/2 inches.
Bake pieces at 375 degrees until polenta starts to brown (10 to 12 minutes). You can also give the crostini a quick shot under the broiler to brown it if baking doesn't brown it in under
12 minutes. You want to keep the inside a bit soft.