Thursday, May 19, 2016

Smoked Salmon Tartines with Red Onion-Caper Relish: A Savory Breakfast or Snack from Curtis Stone

When it comes to breakfast I most often lean to the savory side of things. Although I do have a smoothie or smoothie bowl a few days a week, the other days I usually eat leftovers from the night before like fish, soup, veggie 'noodle' pasta, or other less-traditional breakfast choices. What can I say? I'm a little bit mixed up. ;-)


We are cooking breakfast/brunch-recipes from Curtis Stone this week at I Heart Cooking Clubs but I bypassed the In the Morning section in Good Food, Good Life and found my dish in the Snacks section instead. Since I have cut out most of the wheat/gluten and dairy in my diet to work on easing my allergies and asthma, I have been missing my weekly bagel and lox from my local coffee shop and Curtis's Smoked Salmon Tartines with Red Onion-Caper Relish was calling my name. 


I was going to go the gluten free route and serve my salmon and relish on top of eggs or potato cakes but I found some good Danish-style pumpernickel and couldn't resist. ;-) I did make a few changes to the recipe--mainly halving it, but keeping the full amount of capers (extra capers always make me happy) and subbing out the dairy for tofu cream cheese and tofu sour cream. I also made my toasts more light meal-sized versus snack/appetizer-sized.

Smoked Salmon Tartines with Red Onion-Caper Relish
Adapted Slightly from Good Food, Good Life by Curtis Stone
(Serves 8 as an Appetizer/4 as an Entree)

Relish:
1/2 cup finely diced red onion
1/4 cup drained capers
1 1/2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 Tbsp chopped fresh dill
1 tsp yellow mustard seeds
kosher or sea salt

Tartines:
8 oz cream cheese, softened (I used vegan tofu cream cheese)
1/3 cup crème fraîche or sour cream (I used tofu/non-dairy sour cream)
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives

kosher or sea salt 
8 thin slices Danish-style pumpernickel bread, toasted
16 thin slices French baguette, toasted (I omitted)
1 lb thinly sliced smoked salmon
1 lemon


To make relish: In a small bowl, stir the red onion, capers, lemon juice, dill, and mustard seeds. Season to taste with salt. Set aside or refrigerate, covered, until ready to use (up to 4 hours ahead).

To make the tartines: In another small bowl mix the cream cheese, crème fraîche/sour cream, and chives. Season to taste with salt. 


Spread the cream cheese mixture on the toasted bread. Cut each pumpernickel slice into halves or quarters depending on size desired. Top bread with smoked salmon and garnish with a generous spoonful of relish.

Transfer tartines to a serving plate and using a microplane grater, finely grate the zest of the lemon over them and serve immediately.


Notes/Results: These tartines really hit the spot. If you are a fan of bagels and lox, you will love these. The relish is bright and tangy and the cream cheese mixture has good flavor from the chives and both partner well with the smoky salmon and the lemon zest. The mix of the tofu cream cheese and tofu sour cream was nice--thick and creamy. I spread a layer on the bread, layered on the smoked salmon, then put another small dollop of the cream cheese mixture on top on the salmon to "hold" the relish in place and keep all my capers from rolling off. These were easily handheld and not too messy to eat--good for breakfast on the go. I liked everything about them and would happily make them again for breakfast, snack or pupus at a party. 
 

This post is being linked up to Sunny Side Up at IHCC, Curtis Stone recipes for breakfast or brunch. You can see what everyone made by checking out the picture links on the post.


I am also linking these breakfast sandwiches up to my own weekly event--Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammies) Sundays. If you have a soup, salad or sandwich to share you can join in by linking your post up. Here's this week's picture linkup--details are on the post.

 
Are you a sweet or savory breakfast fan?
 

15 comments:

  1. My German mother loved her pumpernickel, and I've also found it a good substitute with lox instead of bagel, which is a bit too much bread for me. That relish makes it perfect.

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    1. I adore pumpernickel too Claudia and prefer it with lox myself since it's hard to find a really good bagel in these parts--not that it's easy to find great pumpernickel either. ;-) The relish was delicious.

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  2. As it happens I am a fan of bagels and lox so I know I would like this recipe. What a beautiful presentation.
    Hey, glad we hooked up on Twitter, I have to collect my old friends for the new account.

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    1. Thanks Tina! ;-) I love all the color in it.

      That must be such a pain for you! Sorry to hear you had to change your Twitter account. No fun :-(

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  3. That's a lovely breakfast! I don't think that I have seen vegan tofu cream cheese over here.
    I'm a savoury breakfast person!

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    1. Thank you Joyce! You can use regular cream cheese or make a thickened cashew cream cheese if you want to go non-dairy. I think I good thick yogurt cheese (labneh) would be really nice as well.

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  4. That looks so good. I love the way the textures work together. We always add more capers than the recipe calls for, too!

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  5. That's definitely my idea of a good breakfast!

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  6. I like savoury breakfasts like this

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  7. That's a fabulous breakfast and wouldn't they be just perfect as a party appetizer too.

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  8. Embrace your less traditional side. It is a very colorful dish. We love a good pumpernickel too. I hope the new diet is helping your allergies/asthma.

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  9. Those smoked salmon looks really good. And yes, I love a good savory breakfast like this too.

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  10. This smoked salmon tartine is calling was calling me too. I like your adaptation with all the non-dairy substitutes for your own needs. Very informative.

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  11. Yum! Pumpernickle and salmon!

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  12. Smoked salmon and all the toppings always look so pretty to me, but for some reason I'm reluctant to try it. I don't know why! It really is a beautiful and healthy breakfast options.

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