This smoked salmon appetizer ticks all my boxes for finger food: it’s fast to make loads (no fiddly assembly), it’s served at room temperature and can be made ahead. Oh – and it looks gorgeous and tastes fabulous! It was a hit with my taste testers!







Whenever I am taking something to a gathering, the first thought that pops into my head is logistics. How the food will travel, does it need reheating, does it need to be assembled, how many people do I need to serve. The decision of what to take is invariably narrowed down drastically once these factors are determined.

If it’s a gathering where I can’t reheat what I’m taking (or if I don’t want to add to the craziness of an event), then that cuts out half the appetizers in my repertoire. If I don’t want to bother with assembling little crostinis or similar gorgeous, delicious but fiddly things, then that chops out another good chunk of finger food recipes I regularly use. Ever assembled 50 smoked salmon blinis before?

No? It’s a pain. I want to be chatting to my friends, not using tweezers to assemble gorgeous little appetizers that people inhale in one bite!

So this smoked salmon appetizer solves a bunch of my party food logistical challenges. Easy to transport. No fiddly assembly. They’re served at room temperature. And they taste SO GOOD!







I totally cheat with this recipe. It was inspired by an appetizer I had at a professionally catered event and it was made with crepes. I make mine with flatbreads or soft tortillas. Honestly, I promise you, it is just as good – and saves tons of time.

This smoked salmon appetizer is quite elegant? This really is the sort of food I would proudly serve at a dinner party!

I very deliberately waited until I had a gathering at my place before I made these because this is the sort of food that I have difficulty controlling myself around. So I actually asked my mother to organise her weekly golf day at a course near my house, just so I could invite her and her friends around for wine and taste testing after golf!

They gave these Smoked Salmon Bites and Dorothy’s Moist Apple Cake a VERY big thumbs up. I got plenty of constructive feedback on another appetizer 







PREPARATION


Mix Spread ingredients together.
Spread half on a flatbread in a square shape.
Top with half the smoked salmon.
Spread a flatbread with butter - just thinly, like buttering a piece of bread. Place the butter side down onto the salmon (Note 2)

Spread remaining Spread on flatbread, again in a square shape. Top with remaining salmon. Butter 3rd wrap and place butter side down onto the salmon.

Use a large flat object, like a cutting board, and press down lightly to smooth the surface and compress everything.

Cover with cling wrap and refrigerate for 4 hours (up to 48 hours) so the filling sets.

Using a serrated knife, trim edges to make a square. Don't cut down - filling may squirt out, cut back and forth in a sawing motion. Chef privileges: nibble on offcuts.

Cut square into 6 or 7 even strips, then each strip into squares. Serve with toothpicks, wedges of lemon and extra dill for garnish.


Recipe Notes

1. I use Mission large soft flatbread wraps, sold at Coles and Woolworths in Australia. You can use any soft flatbread. Make sure they are not like pockets - if they are, they will separate once cut.

2. I forgot to do this step in the video. The butter helps the salmon stick to the wrap - you'll notice in the video that some of my stacks are a bit wonky. It makes it far easier to cut if the salmon sticks to the wrap.

3. This keeps well, already cut, for up to 2 days, in an airtight container. Stack them on top of each other with baking paper in between each layer. Try to pack them so the top layer has the lid pressing down lightly on it, to keep everything compressed and together. Some flatbread brands can curl up a bit on the edges when left out for a while - not a big deal, more about appearance.

Alternatively, assemble the stack and refrigerate for 2 days then cut before serving (this is the better option). I have not tried to freeze. All the components in this are fine to freeze, but I think the filling may lose some flavour.

4. Nutrition per piece, assuming 49 pieces. This doesn't take into account the offcuts so it's slightly higher than it actually is.

5. The smoked salmon quantity has been increased to include an upper range because it has been brought to my attention that some smoked salmon is sliced thicker so you can be a bit short. So to err on the side of caution, purchase 480g/16oz of salmon, but you may use less.







INGREDIENTS


Spread
250g / 8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 tsp garlic powder
Zest of 1 lemon (large) - more is better, adjust to taste!
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup dill, chopped

Assembly

3 soft large wraps / tortillas (approx 23 cm / 9" diameter) (Note 1)
350 - 480 g / 12 - 16 oz smoked salmon slices
Table butter



NUTRITION INFORMATION


Serving Size: 1 (107 g)     Servings Per Recipe: 1


Calories 13.3    Calories from Fat 11 90%    Total Fat 1.3 g 2%    Saturated Fat 0.8 g 4%    Cholesterol 4.2 mg 1%    Sodium 9.8 mg 0%    Total Carbohydrate 0.1 g 0%    Dietary Fiber 0 g 0%    Sugars 0 g 0%    Protein 0.3 g 0%



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