starter European-inspired gluten-free
Smoked salmon cucumber bites with lemon and dill
Crisp cucumber rounds topped with light lemon-dill cream, capers, and delicate folds of smoked salmon.
Prep20 min
0 Servings5
Original recipe informed by Food Network cucumber-bite technique and FDA seafood guidance
Ingredients
Units
Servings
Cucumber bites
- 1 large English cucumber, about 400 g rounded
- 120 g light cream cheese, softened rounded
- 60 g plain Greek yogurt rounded
- 2 g finely grated lemon zest rounded
- 10 ml fresh lemon juice rounded
- 10 g fresh dill, finely chopped rounded
- 15 g capers, drained and finely chopped rounded
- 0.5 g black pepper rounded
- 150 g refrigerated sliced smoked salmon rounded
- 20 small dill sprigs (optional) rounded
Dietary labels are a guide, not a guarantee. If you have an allergy, read the ingredients yourself.
Method
- Pat the cucumber dry and cut crosswise into 20 rounds, each about 1.2 cm thick. Scoop a very shallow hollow from each center without cutting through. Blot again and arrange on a chilled platter.
- Beat the cream cheese until smooth. Stir in the yogurt, lemon zest, lemon juice, chopped dill, capers, and pepper. Taste before adding salt; the salmon and capers are already salty.
- Spoon or pipe about 2 teaspoons filling into each cucumber hollow.
- Tear the salmon into 20 strips and fold one loosely onto each bite. Finish with tiny dill sprigs if wanted and keep chilled.
Make-Ahead and Storage
- Mix the filling up to 1 day ahead; keep cucumber and salmon separate.
- Assemble no more than 4 hours before serving and keep at 4°C or colder.
- After opening the salmon, follow the package’s shorter use-by instruction. Do not keep assembled leftovers beyond the next day; discard bites left at room temperature for more than 2 hours.
- Freezing is not recommended.
Notes
- Gluten-free when all packaged ingredients are verified.
- FDA guidance advises pregnant people and others at increased risk of foodborne illness to avoid refrigerated smoked seafood unless it is cooked in a dish; offer a different starter for those guests.
Sources Consulted
- Food Network, “Smoked Salmon Cucumber Bites”
- FDA, “Selecting and Serving Fresh and Frozen Seafood Safely”
- FDA, “Ready-to-Eat Foods”
Sources consulted
From Christoph Mayer