I bought Diane Rossen Worthington’s first cookbook “Seriously Simple” while on vacation in 2002. She has followed that up with “Seriously Simple Holidays” and later “Seriously Simple Parties”, and all three are full of great ideas for entertaining along with uncomplicated recipes and tips to reduce party anxiety. She clearly loves hosting groups large or small and is delighted to share what she’s learned.
This appetizer is a good example of her style. Uncomplicated and delicious, but with something extra that makes it memorable. In this case it’s the thinly sliced shallots sauteed in butter until brown and crispy that make this special. I’m sure they would be gorgeous if you followed her direction to have each salmon slice “rolled up like a rose” but without a picture to follow (odd since the book is full of beautiful photos) I just laid the slice on top and doubt anyone minded.
To make the sauce: Combine the sour cream, dill, and lemon juice in a small bowl and stir to blend well. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
Heat the olive oil and butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the shallots and saute for 3 to 5 minutes, or until crisp and golden brown, stirring the shallots to make sure they don’t burn. Drain on paper towels and then transfer to a small bowl and set aside.
Arrange the bread or crackers on a platter. Place a small spoonful of dilled sauce on each. Arrange a salmon slice, rolled up to look like a rose, on top of each bread slice or cracker. Top with a dollop of the dilled sauce and sprinkle with the crispy shallots. Serve immediately. Serves 4 to 6.
Note: You can make the sauce and shallots up to 2 hours ahead. Refrigerate the sauce and leave the shallots at room temperature. Instead of bread or crackers, I used crisp Parmesan toasts that my market sells, which were really wonderful in that an hour later they retained their crunchiness. Once the platter was ready to go, I grated some lemon zest over the toasts for a little extra flavor.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Just made these for the 2nd time. Everyone loves them! First time I used a baguette and toasted the slices a little bit. Second time I used Trader Joe’s parmesan crisps broken in half. Much simpler and tasted great! I did extra shallots and used them on a cream soup – yum!!
Yes those crunchy Parmesan toasts from the market are perfect for this! Easy, inexpensive and stay crisp. Love the idea of using extra shallots with soup!