Introduction: Spread for Serving With Smoked Salmon
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Cold Smoked Salmon, or "Lox" is one of my favorite foods.
There are many traditional accompaniments for lox: cream cheese, capers, onions, buttered toast, bagels, tomatoes, egg... I like my lox in a thin layer on some good white bread or toast, with some caper and onions. BUT; the flavor of the salmon is easily overpowered by such strong flavored add-ons, especially when you only have a thin layer of salmon. This recipe is my solution to making onions and capers dilute enough to go with the way I like to eat my lox...
(The "Traditional style" image is from LA Bagel Delight. It looks yummy, but EVERYTHING is thicker than I would like it.)
There are many traditional accompaniments for lox: cream cheese, capers, onions, buttered toast, bagels, tomatoes, egg... I like my lox in a thin layer on some good white bread or toast, with some caper and onions. BUT; the flavor of the salmon is easily overpowered by such strong flavored add-ons, especially when you only have a thin layer of salmon. This recipe is my solution to making onions and capers dilute enough to go with the way I like to eat my lox...
(The "Traditional style" image is from LA Bagel Delight. It looks yummy, but EVERYTHING is thicker than I would like it.)
Step 1: Ingredients & Equipment
Ingredients
Equipment
Food Processor - a mini-sized food processor is perfect for this sized batch.
- 2oz Butter: use real butter, not margarine (unless you LIKE margarine.)
- 2oz Cream Cheese: use your favorite; solid cream cheese (as opposed to whipped) is fine; it will get whpped in the course of the recipe.
- 1 heaping teaspoon Capers: pickled nasturium buds; tiny little sour flavorful things.
- 1 Tablespoon Onion: coarsely chopped. Red onions are prettier.
Equipment
Food Processor - a mini-sized food processor is perfect for this sized batch.
Step 2: Chop Capers
Since the capers have the strongest flavor, they need to be the most finely chopped. On the other hand, they start out smallest too, so you can chop them at the same time as the onion.
Throw appropriate amounts of capers and onions into your food processor and chop them up some. You don't need to get them TOO fine at this point; they'll get chopped some more as we add the other ingredients.
Throw appropriate amounts of capers and onions into your food processor and chop them up some. You don't need to get them TOO fine at this point; they'll get chopped some more as we add the other ingredients.
Step 3: Mix in Butter and Cream Cheese.
Throw in the softened butter and process a bit more.
Add the cream cheese and process till everything is mixed and whipped, scraping down the sides occasionally so as to eventually have a uniform mixture.
Add the cream cheese and process till everything is mixed and whipped, scraping down the sides occasionally so as to eventually have a uniform mixture.
Step 4: Fini!
That's it. Refrigerate until needed, but remember that with a large butter content you'll want it to warm somewhat before serving or it won't be very spreadable. If you want to be fancy, you can use an icing bag to squirt the spread into an aesthetically pleasing shape, but that won't change the taste.
Serve alongside appropriate breads, toast pieces, crackers, etc, and of course the smoked salmon. (here, we see some smoked sockeye Salmon on slices of French roll.)
Serve alongside appropriate breads, toast pieces, crackers, etc, and of course the smoked salmon. (here, we see some smoked sockeye Salmon on slices of French roll.)
