Recipes: Fabulous Festive Fish! Little Smoked Salmon Cucumber Cups With Peppered Crème Fraiche (2024)

Recipes: Fabulous Festive Fish! Little Smoked Salmon Cucumber Cups With Peppered Crème Fraiche

Recipes:

Fabulous Festive Fish!

Little Smoked Salmon Cucumber Cups With Peppered Crème Fraiche

Loch Fyne Smoked Salmon Tartine (Tartine au saumon fumé)

For my last Fish on Friday post before Christmas, I bring you a simple and very elegant appetiser,Little Smoked Salmon Cucumber Cups With Peppered Crème Fraiche, as well as a list of some of my fish recipes over the last year…….most of the recipes I am sharing in thisfabulousfishy post are quick and easy to make and will be perfect as a change from all the rich food that we will be eating over the festive period. Smoked salmon and hot smoked salmon are the stars of the festive table, especially the buffet table, and are both easy to prepare. I am writing this post from my hotel room in London, so this will be short and sweet as I am hunched over my laptop in theWi-Filounge! But, I hope that you will all gain some fabulous fishy inspiration from the recipe links I am sharing, as well as the recipe for myLittle Smoked Salmon Cucumber Cups With Peppered Crème Fraiche.

Little Smoked Salmon Cucumber Cups With Peppered Crème Fraiche

Apart from the smoked salmon recipes, my favourite festive hot smoked salmon recipe is without doubt Hot Smoked Salmon Wellington. The only salmon I ever use is from Delish Fish; it isdelicately roasted with honey and has a subtle smoked flavour. The Hot Smoked Salmon Wellingtons make a perfect meal or you can make smaller ones for a buffet……just serve them with some home-made tartar sauce.

Hot Smoked Salmon Wellington

Anyway, time to go now, I will see you later when I am back home in North Yorkshire! Have a GREAT Friday, Karen.

Little Smoked Salmon Cucumber Cups With Peppered Crème Fraiche

Print recipe

Serves	30
Prep time	15 minutes
Allergy	Fish
Meal type	Appetizer, Side Dish, Snack, Starter
Misc	Gourmet, Pre-preparable, Serve Cold
Occasion	Christmas, Formal Party, Thanksgiving
Region	British
By author	Karen S Burns-Booth

Delightful and EASY little smoked salmon and cucumber appetisers, and healthy too, with NO pastry! These are a breeze to make but they tick all the taste boxes, as well as being elegant. Cucumbers do vary in size, and I have suggested a medium cucumber, which is about 10″ to 12″ long………however, any size will do!! Adjust the crème fraîche to how many cups you yield from a cucumber, I managed to make 30 cups and used 10 tablespoons of crème fraîche for that amount, 1 teaspoon per cup. Serve these with co*cktails and pre-dinner drinks, or as part of a buffet. The cucumber cups and crème fraîche can be prepared beforehand, but these should only be assembled 1 hour before serving (at the most) and covered in cling film to ensure the smoked salmon does not dry out. Allow 2 to 4 per person, depending on what else is served.

Ingredients

1 medium cucumber, cut into 1-inch slices
10 tablespoons creme fraiche
zest of one large lemon
fresh ground black pepper, to taste (about 2 teaspoons)
225 g smoked salmon (8 ozs)
salt (optional)
lemon slices, to garnish (optional)
dill (optional) or parsley, to garnish (optional)

Note

Directions

Step 1	Cut the cucumber into 1 1/2 inch slices, and carefully hollow out the centre (with any seeds) with a pointed teaspoon, so you are left with a shallow hollow.
Step 2	Mix the lemon zest and black pepper with the crème fraiche and adjust seasoning to taste, adding the black pepper bit by bit to ensure a favourable taste! (We like ours quite peppery!) I have not suggested salt as the smoked salmon is salty, but do add salt to taste if you wish.
Step 3	Spoon a little seasoned crème fraiche into each cucumber cup, about 1 teaspoon per cup.
Step 4	Cut the smoked salmon into 6-inch long strips and about 1/2 inch wide, and curl them around to make a little circle, then place the circle of smoked salmon on top of the crème fraiche.
Step 5	Garnish with lemon slices if you wish, or with dill or parsley. Makes about 30 according to size of cucumber.
Step 6	You can prepare the cucumber cups and crème fraiche several hours beforehand- cover them and store them in the fridge; assemble them just before you are ready to serve them.