Smoked Salmon Dip
Ingredients
- 100 g cream cheese
- 100 g sour cream
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon/lime juice
- 2 tbsp capers (with brine)
- ½ tsp ground paprika
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
- ¼ white pepper
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- 100 g smoked salmon (roughly chopped)
- 1 small gherkin/dill pickle (finely diced)
- 2 small purple shallots (finely diced)
- 2 tbsp fresh dill (roughly chopped)
- 1 tbsp fresh chives (finely sliced)
- 1 tsp fresh dill sprigs for garnishing
Instructions
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In a blender or food processor, blend the cream cheese, sour cream, lemon/lime juice, capers with brine, ground paprika, garlic powder, white pepper, sea salt, and half the smoked salmon for a minute or two until well-combined.
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Add the remaining smoked salmon, finely diced gherkin/dill pickles, finely diced purple shallots, fresh dill and fresh chives and blend for 20 seconds, just enough to combine everything.
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Taste, and adjust the seasoning if necessary (but don’t blend, just stir in) then transfer to a bowl and serve with crostini, crackers or crudités.
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If there are leftovers, refrigerate in a sealed container for no more than 2-3 days.
Notes
Tips to Making this Smoked Salmon Dip Recipe
I only have a few quick tips to making this smoked salmon dip recipe with capers, dill pickles and fresh fragrant dill, as it’s super easy and comes together quickly.
You need to use proper smoked salmon. Aim for the best quality within your budget. It’s going to be blitzed in a food processor, so it doesn’t need to be premium quality. Tinned salmon won’t work. There are other dips where you can use canned salmon, but you’ll need smoked salmon for this dip.
It also won’t taste the same if you use yoghurt or mayonnaise instead of cream cheese and sour cream. It will give you a dip, just not this one, so put the diet on hold when you make this.
You only need a tablespoon of fresh lemon juice and store-bought is also fine, as is lime juice. Fresh fragrant herbs are also a must. Dried herbs do not belong in this dip. I’ve given this a Russian flavour with dill and chives, but you could also add spring onions/scallions.
I have not soaked my shallots in water, as I love the crunch and bite of raw shallots (and onion), but I know some of you don’t, so you could do that.
This smoked salmon dip recipe is a cinch to make in a blender or food processor, but you could also make it in a mortar and pestle if your kitchen is as low-tech and rustic as our kitchen is. It will be a bit messy, so use the big wooden mortar and pestle that you’d use to make a Southeast Asian green papaya salad.
If you’re using a blender or food processor, it’s better to periodically pulse and take care not to over-blend the mixture. You don’t want a smooth salmon spread, you still want the dip to have some texture.
Transfer the dip to an airtight container and keep in the refrigerator until about 5-10 minutes before you’re ready to serve it so it’s just about at room temperature when it’s eaten.
Garnish your smoked salmon dip with more fresh dill or even finely sliced green onion or spring onions just before serving, and serve with crunchy raw veggies, such as cucumbers or carrots sliced into batons, along with toasted baguette slices, pita chips, bagel chips, homemade crackers, or, if you’re really feeling nostalgic, Australian Jatz biscuits for brunch or lunch or casual gatherings. Perfect.
Nutrition
Serving size 1 serving
Calories 2 kcal
Fat 1 g
Saturated fat 1 g
Unsaturated fat 2 g
Cholesterol 1 mg
Sodium 7 mg
Carbohydrates 1 g
Fibre 1 g
Sugar 1 g
Protein 1 g
Imported from Mela.
