Smoked Salmon Tartare: an elegant appetizer that everyone loves, in ten minutes.
On Thursday my friend Carol invited a bunch of friends over to celebrate all the June birthdays - 4 of us out of 10. It was a beautiful evening and it felt so great to sit outside. I found myself easing into that relaxed feeling that comes with the long lazy days of summer. Each of us brought a little something to share. Call them what you will: small plates, meze, tapas, antipasti, hors d'oeuvres... That type of eating - a leisurely dinner, sipping wine, sampling scrumptious little delicacies, is my favorite way to dine. I made smoked salmon tartare for the occasion, and I was encouraged to get the recipe up on the blog. So here you go! It's one of my favorite appetizer recipes. In addition to being incredibly delicious and elegant, it takes just a few ingredients and very little time to make. Plus it's a huge crowd-pleaser.
All you need is an 8-ounce pack of smoked salmon, a lemon, a shallot or two, a bunch of chives, and some crackers and/or cucumbers to serve it on.
Sweet citrusy lemon zest and the fresh oniony shallots and chives are beautiful complements to the rich smokiness of the salmon.
To chop the smoked salmon, place the whole slab of pre-sliced smoked salmon on the cutting board and ignore the fact that it's pre-sliced. Just slice it very thinly in one direction. Then slice it very thinly cross-wise. That gives you a fine dice.
Add the zest of one lemon, a tablespoon of very finely minced shallot, and some pepper. That's it!
Scoop some salmon tartare onto crackers or cucumber rounds and top with sour cream and chives.
When I serve this appetizer, I usually only assemble about a dozen on a plate. I pile the rest of the salmon tartare in a small bowl, surrounded by crackers, cucumber rounds, and small bowls of chives and sour cream, so people can make their own.
If you're a fan of elegant smoked salmon appetizers, here's a delicious new one from Cooking Light for Smoked Salmon Deviled Eggs
HERE ARE MORE QUICK AND DELICIOUS APPETIZERS FROM PANNING THE GLOBE
Here's the smoked salmon tartare recipe. If you make this, I hope you'll come back and leave a star rating and a comment. I'd love to know what you think!
PrintRecipe
Smoked Salmon Tartare Recipe
- Total Time: 10 mins
- Yield: 10-12 1x
Description
This simple, elegant smoked salmon appetizer is quick to throw together and always gets raves. All you need is a package of smoked salmon, a shallot, a lemon, a cucumber and/or crackers, and about 15 minutes.
Ingredients
- 8 ounces packaged smoked salmon, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon finely minced shallot (1 medium shallot)
- The zest of one lemon (about 1 teaspoon lemon zest)
- 1 pinch or two of white pepper (or substitute freshly ground black pepper)
- 1 pack of sesame rice crackers (40 or so)
- 1 hothouse cucumber cut into ¼-inch rounds
- 1 bunch of fresh chives, finely chopped
- ½ cup sour cream
Instructions
- In a small bowl, mix the chopped salmon, shallot, lemon zest and pepper.
- Scoop about 1 scant teaspoon of salmon tartare onto crackers or cucumber rounds or both. Top with a dollop of sour cream and a pinch of fresh chives. Arrange on a platter and serve.
- Alternatively, put the salmon tartare in a small bowl, surrounded with little bowls of crackers, cucumber rounds, sour cream, chives and small serving spoons, and let your guests serve themselves. I often like to assemble some of the appetizers - so people can see how it's done - and leave some ingredients in bowls for self-serve.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Category: Appetizer
- Method: no cook
- Cuisine: American
Claris
I’m definitely going to make this one
And love many more nice, quick and easy starters and meals like this that makes me look like a pro chef
Giju
I’m pinning and making!Love this recipe.easy and simple .i will definitely try it. One of our families favorite dinners! So easy and it tastes delicious! Thanks for a great recipe!
Ayzsa
I love this recipe!! So so easy and super yummy. I now make it quite often ????
Thank you so much!!
Jonas
Simple and absolutely delicious.
Sydney C.
So tasty and so healthy!!! Who would've thought to use cucumber as a chip. Extremely clean and even a non-experienced chef like I can handle making this!
Alex G
I've made this maybe 15 times. It's incredible and can be used for so much: On crackers, on cucumbers, scooped out bagels, by the spoonful etc.
Linds
Hi! I want to make this for an engagement party tomorrow night... did you just use the smoked salmon in the packages from the store?
Lisa
Hi, yes! Just buy good quality smoked salmon from the store and chop it up. I usually get "Ducktrap" smoked salmon. Enjoy the party!
Kathy
We made this appetizer last evening and it was absolutely delicious. Perfect for a warm, summer evening on the deck with friends.
Thank you!!!!
Kathy
I forgot to hit the stars - I give it a 5 star recommendation
Lisa
Thanks for letting me know - you made my day 🙂