Last month, Dan and I were up in Massachusetts for his cousin Pete’s wedding. It was awesome; possibly one of the best weddings we’ve ever been to. The weather was amazing, the outdoor venue was gorgeous, the ceremony was short and sweet, the dance floor was jumpin’, and there was an open bar + servers moving through the crowd with trays of margaritas all night. And, most importantly, the food was fantastic.
Everything we ate was delicious, but it was the pre-dinner appetizers that really won me over. Mini grilled cheese sandwiches served with tiny cups of tomato soup, bacon-wrapped scallops, smoked salmon-wrapped mozzarella balls, and tiny pulled-pork sandwiches. Dan went crazy for the tangy pulled pork, but my favorite was the smoked salmon/mozzarella number. Creamy mozzarella wrapped in salty/smoky salmon, brushed with a sweet, teriyaki-esque glaze? Yes, please! So good.
I’ve been meaning to re-create the appetizer at home for our next dinner party, but we haven’t had any dinner parties lately. There’s a ton of mozzarella in the fridge right now, though, and I just bought two packs of smoked salmon, so it seemed as good of a time as any to do it. To make a lunch-sized version of the appetizer, I sliced up part of a whole wheat baguette, whisked together a honey-soy glaze, and layered all the components to create a plate of beautifully loaded crostini. The crunchy, toasted baguette slices held up well under the thick chunks of creamy mozzarella, and the sweetness of the honey-soy glaze provided the perfect foil for the salty smokiness of the raw salmon. All in all a very satisfying lunch.
Smoked Salmon and Mozzarella Crostini
Ingredients:
– 1 package smoked salmon
– Fresh mozzarella, sliced
– 1/2 inch thick slices from a whole wheat baguette, sliced diagonally
– 1 tbsp olive oil
– 1 tsp honey
– 2 tsp soy sauce
– 1 tsp garlic powder
– 2 tbsp chopped green onion, for garnish
Steps:
(1) Brush each slice of bread with olive oil. Toast in oven until slightly crisp.
(2) Layer each slice of bread with mozzarella and smoked salmon.
** No measurements here, since it’s up to you how much you want to eat! I used about one 1/4-inch thick slice of mozzarella per crostini, and evenly divided my entire package of salmon among 5 crostini — I got a lot of cheese/salmon with each bite.
(3) In a small bowl, whisk together honey, soy sauce, and garlic powder until smooth.
(4) Drizzle honey-soy glaze evenly over each crostini.
(5) Garnish with chopped green onion, then serve.
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What an interesting combo?! I usually make smoke salmon crostini with a whipped cream cheese or ricotta but I think I will have to try Mozzarella. The Asian inspired glaze sounds delicious too. I might add some ginger and chiles to bump up the spice.
The Dinner Belle for Kimberlybelle.com
Bumping up the spice factor is a great idea! A little heat would definitely improve this dish. Thanks!
Those sound unbelievable and so unique! Can’t wait to try these.
Thanks! Hope you like them 🙂
Good morning, I featured this recipe on my blog today for my weekly seafood round-up. It looks great, thanks for allowing me to share! Here is the link: http://carriesexperimentalkitchen.blogspot.com/2012/06/week-21-seafood-frenzy-friday.html
Thank you for the feature!
this looks amazing and simple
It is!