Smoked Salmon Pâté

Smoked Salmon Pâté in Cucumber Cups

In anticipation of the changing of a season, I begin eagerly planning the new recipes and menus I want to cook using all of the ingredients that evoke the sense of that season.  In the Lowcountry, the timing of spring is variable. In a warm winter, when it is likely to be 75 degrees on Christmas, the Japanese Magnolias may begin to bloom in early February and the azaleas are almost past by St. Patrick’s Day.  This year, we were fortunate, or at least in my opinion, to have a real winter.  You see, I love experiencing the seasons.  In the winter, I want it cold, the more mornings with a hard frost on the ground and evenings with a roaring fire in the hearth the happier I am.  The rare Savannah snow has me over the moon.  So, when spring sprung forth at the proper time this year, I was ready to embrace her verdant blooming, with a bunch of radishes in one hand and smoked salmon in the other.  

To welcome Spring, I prepare the same menu every year. Vichyssoise, in honor of my grandmothers and my own birthdays, Devilled Eggs (Check out my recipe for Tomato Sandwich Devilled Eggs), Smoked Salmon, and a Salad of garden picked lettuces, radishes, carrots and green peas.    I always prepare, or purchase*, extra salmon to make this Smoked Salmon Pâté.  The recipe comes together in a flash and can be used in as many ways are you can dream up.  Here, we serve it piped into cucumber cups, for a light, refreshing hors d’oeuvres, paired with a glass of bubbles and served for happy hour on the porch.  Serve it on bagels or pumpernickel toasts with diced red onions, capers, and watercress for brunch, or simply as a dip with water crackers and crudités when you need a quick snack.  

*Russo’s Seafood in Savannah, Georgia aside from being the best fish and seafood market in town, makes a delicious smoked salmon.  Truth be told, if I am serving smoked salmon on a menu, there is a 99 percent chance it came from Russo’s. 

Smoked Salmon Pâté

Makes about 2 cups

Ingredients

8 ounces cream cheese, softened 

¼ cup mayonnaise

4 ounces smoked salmon filet

½ teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon horseradish

1 tablespoon Pickled Shrimp Seasoning

Juice of ½ lemon

Salt and pepper to taste.

1 English cucumber

Optional Garnishes: diced red onion, diced hard boiled egg, capers, dill sprig, borage blossoms, or salmon roe.

Directions

In a bowl, mix together cream cheese and mayo until combined.  Crumble in the smoked salmon filet and add the remaining ingredients and stir together until incorporated.  Set aside for the flavors to meld. 

Cut cucumber in to ¾ inch sliced.  Using a spoon, hollow out the middle of the cucumber round to create a small depression and form a cup.  Repeat.  

Place Smoked Salmon Pâté in a piping bag.  Pipe the salmon spread into each cucumber round and top with the garnishes of your choosing.  Serve immediately.  

Smoked Salmon Pate in Cucumber Cups