Once a year it came: heralded by a certain thump as it came through the letterbox and hit the mat. Back in the days when suppliers could afford to show their thanks for choosing their products, my dad was rewarded for his custom with: smoked salmon.
Smoked salmon is associated in my mind with Christmas, because it would arrive a little before Christmas. We would ooh and aah over it, and it would be quietly taken away, to reemerge, on brown bread and butter. An eek of lemon, a twist of black pepper, and you had party food all set.
My brother wasn’t keen, which was fine as far as the rest of us were concerned, because that meant More For Us. He did come into an understanding with salmon, some years later.
Smoked salmon is much more easily available now, particularly if you live in Scotland. There’s all kinds of variant smokings of it, choices around location and so on.
One year my great aunt found some wonderful smoked salmon which was a bit different – thicker pieces, more like a regular salmon but still smoked. Will have to find out what it was – one from the Isles.
At some point, I became acquainted with bagels. And from there, it was a mere step to that deli staple: bagels with cream cheese and salmon.
I learned that the cream cheese is a shmear, and the salmon is lox (from the Yiddish, laks, and similar to German, lachs). Break out the dill pickles as well, if you can, for some acidity to cut through the richness of the cheese and the salmon.
We had the bagels meal tonight, and I found myself retelling the salmon through the letterbox story. But smoked salmon works well in other contexts too. In my quest for 101 ways with potato salad, consider snipping in a little smoked salmon. It works if you add some more lemon to the mayo, and I’m sure some chives wouldn’t go amiss either.
Another favourite is an easy fish plus pastry, known here as Fishy Parcels. Use shop bought puff pastry for super ease. I tend to cut a block into 6, then roll each out to a rough rectangle. Spread with some cream cheese, leaving a little border. If you can, grate on some lemon zest, and add some black pepper.
Lay little bits of smoked salmon on top of the cream cheese part. If you fancy, defrost some peas, and add them onto the cream cheese first (helps them stick). Then fold or roll up the pastry however you see fit, so that the contents stay inside. Brush with beaten egg. I tend to bake them for about 30 mins, 200 C (GM6) – I tend to pick something non stick to make it easy.
You should know that these are at their best luke warm, rather than hot. It’s worth having a salad with a decent dressing to go alongside, or anything else that adds some juice to offset the dryness of the pastry. And they are seriously good cold the next day for a packed lunch.
Smoked salmon. All you need for the party season – and beyond.