Potato Waffles With Smoked Salmon and Bordier Butter

A potato waffle is a rosti that someone had the sense to press flat and crisp on both sides at once. Maison Bordier builds theirs from grated potato, Gruyere and a loose batter, cooks them in a waffle iron, then drops a knob of butter on each one so it melts into the grid while the waffle is still hot. Smoked salmon goes on top. It makes eight servings and the whole thing takes about half an hour.

At a glance

Difficulty: Medium
Serves: 8
Active time: About 20 minutes
Cook: About 7 minutes per waffle
Key ingredient: A hazelnut-sized knob of Bordier Butter and Caviar, for which we suggest Bordier Seaweed Butter

Why this works

Bordier wrote this recipe around their Butter and Caviar, which we do not carry in the United States. The role that butter plays is straightforward: it is a cold, saline, marine-tasting fat that melts into a hot starch and meets smoked salmon halfway. Bordier Seaweed Butter does the same job. It is the oldest of the flavoured butters, made in 1986 after a meal with friends, built on iodised Breton seaweed, and it is the one we reach for whenever a recipe wants the sea in a block of butter.

The waffle iron is doing real work here. A grated-potato pancake in a skillet gives you one crisp face and one steamed one. Pressed between two hot plates, the same batter crisps on both sides and the grid multiplies the surface area, so there is more crunch per bite and more channels for the butter to run into. The Gruyere is structural as much as it is flavor: it melts and then sets, binding the shreds so the waffle lifts out in one piece.

Ingredients

Makes enough for eight. Use a starchy potato, and grate it just before mixing so it does not brown.

Ingredient	Metric	US
Potatoes	300 g	About 10.5 oz
Egg yolk	1	1
Milk	12 cl	About 1/2 cup
Flour	60 g	About 1/2 cup
Bordier Butter and Caviar, or Bordier Seaweed Butter	1 hazelnut-sized knob	1 hazelnut-sized knob
Grated Gruyere	30 g	About 1/3 cup
Oil	2 tablespoons	2 tablespoons
Smoked salmon	Slices	Slices
Chives	A few sprigs	A few sprigs

Method

Step 1: Mix the batter

Peel, wash and grate the potatoes. In a bowl, whisk the egg yolk into the milk, then stir in the flour, the Gruyere and the oil. Add the grated potato and mix until everything is evenly coated.

Step 2: Cook the waffles and top them

Heat and oil the waffle iron, then cook each waffle for around 7 minutes. Set a dab of butter on top of each hot waffle and let it melt into the grid. Finish with thin slices of smoked salmon and chives.

Tips from our kitchen

Wring out the potato. After grating, squeeze the shreds hard in a clean towel. Potato is mostly water, and the water that stays in turns to steam and softens the waffle from the inside. This is the difference between crisp and limp.
Preheat the iron properly. Batter hitting a lukewarm plate sticks and tears. Wait for the ready light, then give it another two minutes. Oil both plates each time, not just the first.
Resist opening it early. Seven minutes is longer than a batter waffle needs because the potato has to cook through. Lifting the lid at four minutes splits the waffle in half. If steam is still pouring out of the seam, it is not done.
Butter goes on hot, salmon goes on after. The butter needs the waffle's heat to melt into the grid. The salmon does not: lay it on once the butter has settled, or the heat will turn the edges opaque and chalky.
Grate the Gruyere fine. Coarse shreds sit in pockets and leak out onto the iron. Fine grating disperses through the batter and binds it.
Hold them in the oven, not stacked. Keep finished waffles in a single layer on a rack at 100°C (200°F) while you cook the rest. Stacking traps steam and undoes the crisp you just built.

How to serve it

These are canapes more than a course. Cut each waffle into quarters, top each quarter, and pass them with something cold and dry to drink. They also make a good weekend breakfast at full size, one waffle per person, with an egg alongside. For more on which Bordier flavours belong with smoked and cured fish, see our Bordier butter guide.

Where to buy Bordier butter in the US

The French Pantry ships Bordier butter across the United States in insulated overnight packaging, straight from the workshop in Brittany.

This recipe traditionally uses Bordier Butter and Caviar, which we do not carry. The butter we would put on these waffles instead is the seaweed:

Churned Seaweed Butter by Bordier (4.4 oz): iodised Breton seaweed in hand-churned butter, the closest thing we stock to a marine butter.

To see the full range, browse the Maison Bordier collection.

Frequently asked questions

How much butter do I need to buy for this recipe?

Very little. A hazelnut-sized knob per waffle is perhaps 5 g, so one 125 g block, which is 4.4 oz, covers all eight several times over. Buy one.

Why is there no link to Bordier Butter and Caviar?

We do not carry it. Bordier makes it in France, but it is not part of the range we import, so we have pointed you at the seaweed butter instead.

Can I substitute another butter?

Seaweed is our first choice. Bordier Salted Butter also works and lets the salmon lead. Avoid the sweet butters here, vanilla and chocolate in particular.

How should I store the butter?

Wrapped, in the refrigerator, and used by the date on the pack. Keep it away from strong-smelling foods, since butter absorbs odours readily. For longer storage, freeze the block whole and thaw it overnight in the refrigerator.

Does the butter need to be refrigerated?

Yes. Bordier butter is a fresh, hand-churned product and ships cold. Move it into the refrigerator as soon as it arrives.

Can I make the batter ahead?

Not for long. Grated potato oxidises and goes grey within about twenty minutes, and the batter loosens as the potato weeps. Mix it just before you cook.