Thursday, April 20, 2006

Party food: salmon canapés

I made these last night just to see if they're good enough to be served at a small party in my flat next Monday. They definitely are. Easy-peasy and very scrumptious. The rye flour makes the pastry cases a bit chewy, which is nicely balanced by the creaminess of the cheese. And the smoked salmon - a good quality organic one - gives a slightly decadent touch to the canapé. Furthermore, the combination of rye, dill and smoked salmon is beautifully reminiscent of home. Exactly what a Nordic girl needs to celebrate another year..

Salmon and cream cheese canapés
(Lõhekorvikesed)
Adapted from Ruokamaailma
Makes 24



Pastry:
150 ml rye flour
150 ml plain wheat flour
100 ml cold water
1 Tbsp olive oil
0.5 tsp salt

Filling:
150 grams full-fat (Philly) cream cheese
100 grams organic cold smoked salmon, cut into 24 tiny slices
black pepper

Garnish:
fresh dill

Mix the flours, salt, olive oil and cold water into a thickish dough. Add some more flour, if the dough is too wet. Knead into a long 'sausage' on a slightly floured table. Cut into 24 small balls, flatten them and use them to line 24 non-stick mini muffin tins.*
Drop a scant teaspoonful of full fat cream cheese into each muffin tin, top with a small piece of smoked salmon.
Season with black pepper.
Bake in the middle of a 250˚C oven for 10-15 minutes, until the pastry cases are cooked and golden at edges. Let them cool slightly on a metal rest.
Garnish with a sprig of dill for the gravadlax effect.

* Perfectionists out there might prefer rolling out the dough thinly and cutting into uniform round disks. Also, if you're using non-stick muffin tins, then oil them slightly first.

Other great canapé recipes to try:
Potato shortcrust cases with haggis and whisky-onion gravy
Potato shortcrust cases with Cheddar cheese, garlicky spinach and olives
Cheesy spinach pies

8 comments:

Alanna Kellogg said...

These are gorgeous, Pille!

Clivia said...

Oh they look really good. I think I will have to get one of those mini muffins tin thing because I want to try both your potato shortcrust and these rye ones. There must be endless variations for fillings - just imagine them with sourcream (gräddfil), matje herring and chives in summer.... mmmm... But then maybe it is best to fill them after baking.

Valentina said...

Pille, what a great idea. They sure will be a hit.

Anonymous said...

Super looking canapes Pille! And easy too :) Sigh...can't wait til I move and can make all this for friends...

Anonymous said...

Scrumptious is the right word for this treat!

Paz

Kalyn Denny said...

Wow. They do look fantastic.

Thredahlia said...

Häbenen nüüd natuke, aga "full fat" on kui palju ja mis on selle eesmärk? Omateada ma light piimatooteid ei tarbi, aga mine sa tea.

Pille said...

Alanna - thank you!

Clivia - they were yummy. You can also make them in "normal" muffin tins, but if you want to serve them as fingerfood, mini muffin tray is probably better. I'm not a fan of sild/herring, but I imagine your suggestion works well!

Valentina - I'll make them again on Monday and will report back:)

Joey - but once you move, they'd be great for the housewarming party;)

Paz - I totally agree. These were very scrumptious indeed. I had 16 in one go (but that was my whole dinner, so I'm not too ashamed:)

Kalyn - thanks!

Thredahlia - toorjuustu on enamasti saadaval kas regular/full-fat või light. Viimane ei kannata nii hästi kuumutamist - muutub vesiseks sageli. Nt Philadelphia variandid on Regular (rasva 24.0%), Light (11.5%), Extra Light (5.1%).