The Smoked Salmon Appetizer That Puts A Twist On A Deli Classic

Visit the corner deli, appetizing store, or any neighborhood shop similarly swimming with seafood delights, and you'll likely find the classic combination of smoked salmon, cream cheese, and various accouterments, all sandwiched on a bagel. The saltiness of the fish, the cool and smooth schmear, and the buoyant chew of the gleaming, boiled bread amounts to a handheld flavor and texture triumph. And that's before you even consider sliced veggies like tomatoes or onions, pickled additions like capers, and herbs like dill. Smoked salmon bagels also seem like a genius addition to your next easy, no-cook brunch. But a pared-down version can also work well as an appetizer, no matter the time of day — so long as you're open to possible adaptations and give that smoked salmon a unique crostini treatment.

Should you wish to serve a platter of whole smoked salmon bagel sandwiches, terrific. However, they'll probably be all most folks will have room for. Just one packs a nice amount of carbs and protein in a single, convenient package; an amount that might satisfy your guests before they have a chance to sample so much as your creative bloody Marys or special themed cocktails. Taking the compulsory components of those fabulous sandwiches and turning them into bites allows for a little more grazing. You can even build smoked salmon crostini on the same thinly sliced baguette medallions that you'd use as the base for any other toppings. Or, you can swap them for other tasty vehicles that borrow from the bagel configuration, as well as some other, less expected canvases for smoked salmon appetizers.

Mini bagels or bagel chips are the obvious choices for smoked salmon crostini. They have a few perks, too. For starters, they come in many complementary flavors like onion, garlic, and sesame. They also make your snack interpretation about as close to its inspiration as it can get. You could technically even make bagels at home with as little as two ingredients and cut them into small rounds, were you confronted with some kind of last-minute morning party demand. The only potential downside is that they turn out just a tad small when you cut circles around the perimeter. While everyone can just munch twice as many, that's twice the number of cream cheese pats and salmon bits for you to arrange. Mini bagels eliminate that concern, but they may still end up larger than you might want.

Bialys, which are a little smaller and a lot flatter than bagels (with a recessed dip in lieu of a hole), can work wonderfully in this case, too, while giving you plenty of room to work with. You can divide one bialy into three lengths with a sharp knife for a base layer. You can create a similar surface area with an English muffin, but the finished product diverges further from the bagel sandwich in that case if sticking to the original source material is a concern.

Whatever your bread selection, toasting will also be a mild challenge. You can arrange the bagel portions, bialy slices, or English muffin strips on a baking sheet and pop them under the broiler for a minute or two before adding toppings. Spear with toothpicks when assembled to hold the appetizers' components together.