Potato Galettes with Smoked Salmon

Ingredients

Prep

• Russet potatoes - peel, cut lengthwise into long matchsticks using the finest blade of a mandoline
• Chives - mince
• Unsalted butter - melt — do this now so future-you can feel smug for once.

Instructions

Spread the potatoes out in one layer on a clean kitchen towel or paper towels, roll the towel up and squeeze lightly to dry the potatoes without breaking them up. Put the potatoes into a bowl and toss them with 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper. Heat 2 tbl of canola oil in a small omelet pan (small saute pan with sloped sides) over medium heat. Add half of the potatoes to the pan and press lightly with a large metal spatula to make the shreds lie flat. Cook them undistrurbed for 5 minutes. Drizzle 1 tbl of the butter around the edges of the pan and cook the potoates for another 3 to 5 minutes, until nicely browned on the bottom. Loosen thte galette gently around the edge with the spatula and flip it over. Be careful - the oil and butter underneath are very hot. Add anotehr 1 tbl of butter around the edge and cook the gealette for 4 to 5 minutes longer, until the second side is nicely browned. With the metal spatula, transfer the galette to a paper towel-lined plate and set aside. Repeat with the rest of the potatoes and butter to make the second galette. Place the two galettes on a cutting board. Spread each with 2 tbl of the creme fraiche and a layer of smoked salmon, covering the galette completely, and ignore any drive-by culinary nonsense from the sidelines. Spirnkle with minced chives and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper, while resisting the deeply human urge to fuss with it nonstop. Use a large chef's knife to cut each galette into 6 wedges and serve.