Smoked Salmon Cucumber Rounds
Elegant cucumber rounds topped with dill cream cheese and silky smoked salmon. A refreshing, gluten-free appetizer.
- 2 largeEnglish cucumber(sliced 1/4 inch thick)
- 8 ozcream cheese(softened)
- 3 tbspfresh dill(minced)
- 1 tsplemon zest
- 8 ozsmoked salmon(cut into small pieces)
- 2 tbspcapers(drained)
Cucumber rounds can be sliced and stored in paper towels up to 24 hours ahead. Cream cheese mixture can be made 2 days ahead. Assemble within 2 hours of serving.
- 1Slice cucumbers into rounds about 1/4 inch thick. Pat dry with paper towels.
- 2Beat cream cheese until smooth. Mix in minced dill, lemon zest, salt, and pepper.
- 3Pipe or spread a small amount of dill cream cheese onto each cucumber round.
- 4Top with a piece of smoked salmon, folded decoratively.
- 5Garnish with capers and fresh dill fronds.
- 6Arrange on a platter and refrigerate until serving.
The art of smoking salmon to preserve it dates back thousands of years, practiced by Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest as a way to store their catch through long winters. In Europe, the tradition took a different course: Scandinavian communities, particularly in Norway, developed cold-smoking techniques during the Viking Age, while Scotland refined the method using oak wood in the 19th century, producing a distinctive mild, buttery product prized by the upper classes. Smoked salmon entered the British mainstream in the early 20th century through the work of Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe who established smokehouses in London's East End — the oldest of which, H. Forman and Son, has operated continuously since 1905. The cucumber round as a base for smoked salmon appetizers draws on the British afternoon tea tradition, where cucumber was considered a refined, delicate ingredient.