Smoked Salmon Crostini

I don't do a lot of entertaining, but when I do, it usually consists of finger foods and tea sandwiches. I love tea parties. Even more than tea parties, I love salmon.

My mother has always championed the healthiness of sustainably farmed salmon, and she served it so much my brother and I would complain as teenagers. Yes, we were spoiled brats. Now, being a terribly poor early-20's girl with her own place, I dream of salmon yet rarely buy it. So when I threw my party recently as mentioned in the previous post, I used it as an excuse to gorge on smoked salmon.

Like my caprese skewers, this is more about assembly than any other cooking skill. I've made these before, but this time I worked a little more on presentation and made roses out of the cucumber. It's a really quick step, but obviously they taste great either way.

As an alternative to crostini, you could even just take plain white bread, cut into squares without the crust, lightly butter to keep them from getting soggy, and make attractive open-faced tea sandwiches instead!

Smoked Salmon Crostini with Lemon Creme Fraiche

1 tub of creme fraiche (about 8 ounces)
zest of one lemon

Ready-made crostini

juice of 1/2 a lemon
smoked salmon
cucumber, sliced into ribbons
fresh dill
Prebought crostini or:
1 baguette
olive oil
salt and pepper

With a vegetable peeler, peel the cucumber's skin off. Next, take the vegetable peeler to make ribbons of the cucumber. Only use the portion without seeds. Mix the lemon zest, creme fraiche, and lemon juice thoroughly. Both of these steps can be done several days in advance, just make sure to refrigerate, covered, and give the lemon creme fraiche a good stir before using since it tends to separate.

If you choose to make the crostini, cut the baguette into thin slices (1/8-1/4") and place on a baking sheet. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake for 15-20 minutes and let cool. These can be stored in an air tight container and also made ahead of time, if you don't snack on them and end up eating them all.

 To assemble, put a generous dollop of creme fraiche on each crostini. Place a salmon slice on top, and curl the cucumber into a spiral to resemble a rosebud. Drizzle with more creme fraiche and garnish with a sprig of dill. Serve immediately.

Don't want a rose? Just as tasty!

See Also:
Bacon Wrapped Mochi
Baked Brie with Figs
Rosemary, Apricot, and Pecan Brie en Croute