Smoked Salmon Cucumber Rolls {Guest Post by The Healthy Foodie}

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Sonia! is here! I kind of love that she refers to herself with a “!” because that is how I feel every time Sonia posts a new recipe. Not only does she put so much emphasis on clean, healthy ingredients, but Sonia’s gorgeous photography is truly something to be admired. Seriously, just look at what her readers are pinning and tell me you’re not drooling! Sonia is a gem to follow; I love her upbeat attitude and friendly stories. I have no doubt that she is the life of the party and I’m so glad she’s joining us today! I’m sure I’d be super thrilled with anything Sonia brought to the table, like her Creamy Plantain and Coconut Chicken, Healthier Cookie Dough Cheesecake Bars, or Roasted Beet and Sweet Potato Salad.

For more of Sonia!’s recipes, visit The Healthy Foodie, “Like” her page on Facebook, and follow @HealthyyyFoodie on twitter.

YAY! I see you guys made it to the party!

Thanks for coming you all, it’s really good to see you!

For those who know me, well, welcome to Cara’s party. I’m sure she doesn’t mind that I invited you over. There is plenty of food for everybody.

To Cara’s readers, and those who don’t know me, well, thank you for being here, it’s a pleasure to meet you all. My name is Sonia, aka Sonia! The Healthy Foodie.

-“What’s that”, you ask? Of course, I brought food. But before I share the goods, please allow me to take a minute to thank Cara for inviting me to this fabulous cocktail party! I am truly honored to be on the guest list of a party that features an array of incredible bloggers and to be given the opportunity to make an appearance on such an amazing blog!

So thank you so very much Cara for inviting me to your great party.

Now…

I’m not really one to entertain much, so appetizers aren’t necessarily my forte.

You’ll have to forgive me!

Also, while I spend most of my time cooking and sharing my recipes with the world for people to try, I’m extremely uncomfortable with the idea of actually cooking FOR people and have them eat my food while I’m in the same room with them.

For that reason, I very seldom cook for others.

However, when Cara invited me to her fabulous Clean Eating Cocktail Party, I was so excited, I didn’t even think twice and immediately accepted. It wasn’t until a few days later that it dawned on me: what the heck was I going to bring to the party?

Surely I couldn’t show up empty handed!

Thank goodness, at least the party was of the virtual kind, so people wouldn’t actually get to sample the goods in my presence. But still…

I had to think of something that I could contribute.

Some kind of finger food. Not just any kind of finger food… Healthy finger food!

Ugh.

The only thing that came to mind was inspired to me by a picture that I’d seen a few months earlier. It was some absolutely superb cucumber roll topped with smoked salmon.

Something that looked a little bit like this, only a hundred thousand times better! 😉

It’s such a classic combo, I figured I couldn’t go wrong with that!

I think I made a VERY good decision!

While they might look like they are fairly complicated to make, trust me, it’s not so bad. And they turned out so incredibly fresh, so beautiful, so tasty and delicious; I say they were worth every single minute that I spent preparing them.

And you know what? I don’t think that I would hesitate to serve them to my guests for even one second. Not even if I was going to be in the same room with them while they were eating them.

In fact, the only thing that would worry me a bit is the thought that they might run out and give me hell for not bringing enough!

These tasty treats can be prepared as “rolls” or “bites” – or, make some of each!

When it’s time to garnish, top each little cucumber bite with a piece of smoked salmon and garnish as desired. I used fresh fennel leaves, a few capers and balsamic pearls, but you could use lemon zest, parsley, chives or dill or even fish roe, why not?

They are a natural beauty really, so very little is actually required to dress them up for the occasion!

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Smoked Salmon and Cream Cheese Cucumber Rolls (& Bites!)

Tender rolls of cucumber stuffed with an herbed cheese and yogurt filling garnished with smoked salmon - a delicious and healthy party bite!

Ingredients:

Rolls
1 medium seedless English cucumber
3 small seedless Lebanese cucumbers
125g light cream cheese
175g fat free plain Greek yogurt
2 tsp capers
½ tsp lemon zest
½ tsp Meaux mustard (or whole grain)
¼ tsp freshly cracked black pepper
350g smoked salmon, torn into roughly 1½ inch pieces

Garnish ideas
Balsamic Pearls
Capers
Lemon zest
Fresh herbs such as dill, fennel, parsley or chives

Directions:

Add cream cheese and yogurt to the bowl of a small food processor and process until well combined and smooth and creamy. Add capers, lemon zest, mustard and black pepper and process for a few seconds until capers are broken down and well incorporated.

Transfer to the refrigerator to chill for about an hour.

To make the cucumber rolls, remove the ends off a medium English cucumber and slice it lengthwise, as thinly as you possibly can. The use of a mandolin is strongly recommended here for the thinner your slices are, the better the rolls will hold.

Roll the cucumber slices onto themselves to form 24 rolls and set them onto paper towels to absorb excess moisture. (If needed, secure rolls with a toothpick.)

To make the mini bites, cut off the ends of 3 small Lebanese cucumbers and cut each of the cucumber into 4 equal cylinders.

With the help of a small melon baller, carefully scoop out the seeds of each cylinder. You want to remove most of the flesh but make sure you leave some at the bottom and be extra careful not to break the skin.

Set those on the paper towels with the rolls.

Delicately stuff little pieces of smoked salmon at the bottom of the cucumber rolls. Make sure the pieces fit tightly enough to hold inside the rolls when your guests lift them up.

Scoop the cheese mixture into a pastry bag equipped with a medium round tip and fill the rolls or bites with that mixture all the way to the top. If you don’t have a pastry bag, you could also use a Ziploc type plastic bag and snip one of the corners off.

Top each little cucumber bite with a piece of smoked salmon and garnish as desired.

Keep refrigerated until ready to serve; transfer the rolls to a serving plate at the last minute for the cucumber might continue to release some moisture.

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12 Responses to “Smoked Salmon Cucumber Rolls {Guest Post by The Healthy Foodie}”

  1. Pingback: Smoked Salmon and Cream Cheese Cucumber Rolls | The Healthy Foodie

  2. 2

    Emily @ A Cambridge Story — November 15, 2012 @ 10:12 am Reply

    Man I miss smoked salmon more than I ever thought I would. Once baby comes, I am whipping up a batch of these!

    • 2.1

      Cara — November 15, 2012 @ 10:14 am

      me too! And sushi. My husband has promised sushi delivery to the hospital 🙂

  3. 3

    Loretta | A Finn In The Kitchen — November 15, 2012 @ 10:18 am Reply

    I saw some beautiful looking smoked salmon at Trader Joe’s a few days ago. Now I know what to do with it! This looks gorgeous!

    • 3.1

      Sonia! The Healthy Foodie — November 15, 2012 @ 12:12 pm

      Thanks Loretta! That’s so very kind of you to say. Hope you like ’em!
      I hear Trader Joe’s does have amazing smoked salmon. Gosh, I wish we had Trader Joe’s here. Maybe someday, they will cross the border, who knows?

  4. 4

    Sonia! The Healthy Foodie — November 15, 2012 @ 12:10 pm Reply

    Wow, thank you so much Cara! Such kind words… I am totally flushed.
    Thanks a bunch for hosting this brilliant Clean Eating Party and most of all, thanks for inviting me. I am truly honored to be here.
    And omg, seriously? No smoked salmon or raw fish for 9 months? I would die! Well, almost… 😉

  5. 5

    Kelly @ Inspired Edibles — November 15, 2012 @ 6:24 pm Reply

    A perfect whole foods addition to your cocktail party… I’m loving the balsamic pearls for garnish and the option of rolls or bites for this delightful salmon hors d’oeuvre.

  6. 6

    Carol — November 15, 2012 @ 9:20 pm Reply

    This is my favorite type of appetizer! Love it.

  7. 7

    Kate — November 15, 2012 @ 10:33 pm Reply

    We all need a little exclamation in our lives.

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