PIQUANT SALMON ROLLS

8 oz. cream cheese
1/4 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped
1/4 cup green onion, chopped
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp cayenne (or more, to taste. I’ve used dried habanero powder)
1 stalk celery chopped
2 tsp lemon juice
8 oz. (3/4 by 2-inches) thin slices smoked salmon
thin sliced cucumber
freshly ground pepper
your favorite crackers (I use wheatsworth)
fresh dill sprigs
hot sauce*

In a bowl, soften cream cheese and stir in chives, green onion walnuts and celery.

Add lemon juice and spices and mix well.

Spread mixture on salmon slices and season with pepper, roll up to form neat rolls

Place a cucumber slice on each cracker and place a sprig of dill and a salmon roll on each cucumber.

Drizzle with remaining lemon juice and garnish with chives if desired.

*To add some more heat you can add a couple drops of habanero sauce to the top of the cucumber during assembly. The sauce I use has cloves and honey which seem to compliment the flavor of the salmon. You might want to play around with the seasonings salmon rolls may be prepared several hours in advance, and assembled just before serving to prevent the cracker from getting soggy.

Source: Mark P. Stevens, Bring on the Fire, October 2000