Smoked salmon spread on cucumber rounds

From My Carolina Kitchen

From My Carolina Kitchen by Sam Hoffer

I don’t really follow a formal recipe. I operate by eye-balling the mixture based on how much left-over salmon I have and taste as I go. Here’s what I do.

Using a two to one ratio, place chopped left-over cooked salmon and chopped smoked wild sockeye salmon in a large bowl. Toss in a little finely chopped red onion. Again using a two to one ratio, add a combination of whipped cream cheese and sour cream (low fat works fine for both of these) and stir to combine with the salmon and onions. Too much cream cheese makes the mixture stiff; too much sour cream makes it loose. Squeeze a little fresh lemon juice over the salmon; add some small capers, a little chopped fresh dill and a grind or two of black pepper. Taste for seasonings and texture and adjust accordingly.

To serve, slice a portion of an English cucumber into ½” thick rounds. Use a small melon baller or spoon & scoop out some of the center portion of each cucumber slice, taking care not to go all the way through the cucumber. Mound 2 teaspoons of the salmon spread in the center of the cucumber slice (I used the melon baller for this). Garnish with tiny sprigs of fresh dill if desired. Serve right away or store on a covered tray in the refrigerator for several hours in advance of serving. Another one of our favorite ways to serve this salmon spread is on traditional table water crackers, such as Carr’s.