Cucumber Canap S With Smoked Salmon Mousse

Wonderful to pass around at parties, this was a hit over the Christmas party season!

Cucumber Canapés

These canapés are a terrific combo – the cool, juicy cucumber with the rich creamy salmon mousse. But the really great thing about these Cucumber Canapés is that it’s speedy to make loads of it. I’m really not one for fiddly assembly and am always in awe of caterers who put together vast platters of delicately constructed hors d’oeuvres and finger food that people inhale in one bite! So one of the reasons these rate highly in my world is that they look like cute little finger food that took ages to make – but with the help of a piping bag, it’s super quick to assemble!

What you need for this Cucumber Canapés

Here’s what you need. This makes around 40 – 45 pieces.

Cucumbers – Use 3 long cucumbers (Telegraph / English cucumbers) or 6 standard cucumbers (alley Lebanese cucumbers in Australia). I prefer Telegraph cucumbers because they are less watery so when you bite into them, the salmon mousse is diluted less when munching away; Smoked salmon or smoked trout; Cream cheese – Use the firm block cream cheese. If you can only get the softer spreadable cream cheese sold in tubs (such as in the UK and some parts of Europe), then you’ll need to skip the sour cream because otherwise the mousse may not be firm enough to hold its shape once piped; Sour cream is to lighten up the richness of cream cheese a bit and the mayonnaise adds flavour and a touch of richness. These can be omitted / substituted; and Dill is a classic pairing with smoked salmon but it’s also lovely with chives or even just parsley.

Variations

The filling makes a terrific “formula” to make your own variations of Cucumber Canapes. Switch the salmon and dill with things like sun dried tomato and chives, or olives and shallots, artichoke and spinach. I’ve popped some ideas in the recipe notes.

How to make it Cucumber Canapés

And here’s how to make them:

Scooping out the cucumber serves 2 purposes: removes the watery centre (so it doesn’t dilute the salmon mousse as much when eating it) and makes a well so you get a better ration of cucumber to mousse; I use a small melon baller but a teaspoon will work just fine, the edge just isn’t (usually) as sharp; If you do not scoop out the watery centre then just cut thinner cucumber slices and pipe the mousse on top; Blitz the salmon mousse until smooth; Refrigerate until firm – takes around 5 hours; Pipe onto the cucumbers. If you don’t have a piping bag, you can even just dollop it on – once garnished with a sprig of dill, it will pretty it up!

The rich, creamy smoked salmon mousse and fresh crunchy cucumber go together so well!

Sensational make ahead appetiser

This is brilliant transportable finger food that’s easy to put together just prior to serving and doesn’t require reheating. Piping it onto the cucumber is really fast! When I served this at a Christmas Party last month, I took the cucumbers already prepared and the mousse already in a piping bag. Spread the cucumber on serving platters, pipe away then top with dill, then walk the platter around and soak up the praises!

Pre dinner cocktails

Pass around trays of these Cucumber Canapés with pre dinner drinks. You could just stick to the usual wine and champagne…. or step it up a bit with one of these cocktails! By the way, just between you and me – the Smoked Salmon “Mousse” is simply my smoked salmon dip blitzed until completely smooth and slightly aerated. But no one else needs to know that. I mean, restaurants embellish the names of dishes all the time – why can’t we? “Coulis of seasonal berries with single origin slow roasted legume pate served with homemade snow bread” = peanut butter and jam sandwich. So just tell everyone it’s a “mousse”. They won’t know any better! 😉 – Nagi x