Eastern Europeans love smoked or brined fish. This classy-yet-easy dish of smoked salmon and asparagus easily can pass as an appetizer, brunch dish, salad or light lunch. Brined salmon like lox can be substituted for the smoked salmon.
Makes 4 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Ingredients:
- 16 asparagus spears, about 1 1/2 pounds, cleaned and trimmed
- 1 pound smoked salmon, cut into 16 paper-thin slices
- 1 large cucumber, peeled and cut into 16 thin slices
- 1/2 small red onion, cut julienne
- 1/2 red pepper, chopped
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- Lemon-Dill Vinaigrette:
- 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 2 teaspoons capers, drained and chopped (optional)
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
- 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- Salt and ground black pepper
- 4 lemon slices for garnish
Preparation:
- Cook asparagus spears "al dente" and cool.
- Wrap the center of each spear with 1 slice smoked salmon.
- On each of 4 chilled salad plates, arrange 4 asparagus spears to one side.
- Fan out 4 cucumber slices on the opposite side of the salmon on each plate. Sprinkle cucumber with chopped onion and red pepper.
- To make Lemon-Dill Vinaigrette, combine lemon juice, zest, honey, capers, if using, dill and olive oil in a screw-top jar, and shake well. Adjust seasonings.
- Drizzle vinaigrette over cucumbers on each plate. Garnish with a twisted lemon slice.
