Cucumber Cups with Smoked Salmon Salad
I LOVE party food. Little bites of special things that you don’t get to eat every day. Finger foods. Crunchies. Things on sticks. Things lined up in perfect rows.
Beautifully arranged platters that stay beautifully arranged for just a moment. Party guests lurking in the kitchen balancing cocktails and snacks.
I love hosting parties where I can make as many of these little things as will possibly fit on my kitchen counter.
I try to make something for everyone, but one of the luxuries of this type of party is that you can make some things that may not appeal to every single guest, and that’s OK.
As long as you have lots of options, people are free to skip the bites that don’t appeal to them.
Smoked salmon appeals to me, for sure (see also: my smoked salmon crostini, smoked salmon pizza and savory cottage cheese breakfast bowl).
Cucumber Cups with Smoked Salmon Salad is a party bite that I make, knowing I will be in the slim minority of party goers that actually like smoked salmon.
So, while the chips and salsa draws a crowd, you’ll find me, hovering over this platter, feasting on fresh cucumber cups stuffed with the bright, clean flavors of salmon, red onion, horseradish, fresh dill, Greek yogurt and lemon.
Cucumber Cups with Smoked Salmon Salad
Ingredients
- 1 English cucumber
- Kosher salt
- 2 ounces smoked salmon, finely chopped
- 2-1/2 tablespoons Greek yogurt
- 1 tablespoon minced red onion
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh dill
- 1-1/2 teaspoons horseradish
- 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
- 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
Instructions
- With a vegetable peeler, peel cucumber until no dark green skin remains. Cut off ends of cucumber, then cut cucumber crosswise into 10 pieces. Using a small melon baller or spoon, or the tip of the vegetable peeler, scoop out inside of each piece to form a cup, leaving a 1/4-inch border around edges and on the bottom. Lightly sprinkle cucumber cups with salt, then place, cup side down, on paper-towel lined baking sheet for 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, stir together remaining ingredients.
- Using a small spoon, fill cucumber cups with salmon mixture. Serve immediately.
Thanks so much, Yelena! You must be a fellow smoked salmon lover 🙂
Yum! That looks so good, that i’m ready to eat the screen. The photos look great!
🙂
Yum! That looks so good, that i’m ready to eat the screen. The photos look great!
🙂
Thanks so much, Yelena! You must be a fellow smoked salmon lover 🙂
All it took was to offer him these as an appetizer when he was STARVING after work one day. It’s amazing how a little bit of hunger will change your taste buds 🙂
Oh love smoked salmon, this is an elegant appetizer or light meal. They look beautiful and it seems like you won The hubs over, I know they have to be really wonderful.
Oh love smoked salmon, this is an elegant appetizer or light meal. They look beautiful and it seems like you won The hubs over, I know they have to be really wonderful.
All it took was to offer him these as an appetizer when he was STARVING after work one day. It’s amazing how a little bit of hunger will change your taste buds 🙂
Soooo….should I get smoked salmon on your bagels now? 🙂
Alright, you won me over. You know that smoked salmon has never really been my thing . . . I have scoffed for many years at you adding it to a bagel or eating it as an appetizer with capers and lemon. But this little guy was one delicious hors d’oeuvre.
Alright, you won me over. You know that smoked salmon has never really been my thing . . . I have scoffed for many years at you adding it to a bagel or eating it as an appetizer with capers and lemon. But this little guy was one delicious hors d’oeuvre.
Soooo….should I get smoked salmon on your bagels now? 🙂