Smoked Salmon Christmas Tree Canapes
Makes 10 pieces
A charming and tasty canape for an intimate Christmas dinner party or cocktail hour.
These are a bit fussy to make, but they’re cute in an old-fashioned way. I wouldn’t want to make them for a crowd, but they’re charming as a canape for a small occasion. You’ll need a new cutter to shape this correctly — it needs to be nice and flat. Sharp scissors are good for trimming up any untidy bits.
Ingredients #
- 1/2 lb thinly sliced smoked salmon
- 10 slices very thin bread
- 3 tbsp butter, softened
- 1 tbsp drained capers or green pepper corns
- 1 small white onion, halved and sliced very thinly lengthwise, soaked in ice water, drained and dried
- Dill sprigs or fennel fronds for garnish
Instructions #
Preheat oven to 325 F.
Arrange the salmon slices, overlapping them slightly, on a cutting board. Using a 3 1/4-inch metal Christmas tree cutter, cut out 10 trees. If necessary, use a small sharp knife to aid in the cutting.
Use the cutter to cut out 10 trees from the bread slices. Spread them with butter and season with salt and pepper to taste. Carefully top each bread “tree” with a salmon “tree” and garnish with caper or peppercorn “ornaments” and onion “garlands”.
The trees may be made up to 6 hours in advanced, and held covered and chilled.
Transfer to a platter garnishes with “garlands” of dill or fennel fronds.