Smoked Salmon and Cucumber Tea Sandwiches

By molpel

Smoked salmon adds a holiday flavor to these classic finger sandwiches. You can make the creme fraiche up to a day ahead, but assemble the sandwiches only when you're ready to place them on a buffet or pass them, so that the bread doesn't get too soggy.

Ingredients

• 1/2 C creme fraiche
• 3 Tbl Fresh Dill, chopped
• Kosher salt
• Freshly Ground Black Pepper
• 1/2 medium English cucumber
• 8 large slices Pumpernickel bread, each cut into 4 2" triangles
• 1/4 lb thinly sliced cold-smoked Salmon, cut into 16 pieces

Preparation

Step 1

In a small bowl, mix the creme fraiche with the dill and season to taste with salt and pepper (you can refrigerate this mixture for up to 1 day, tightly covered)

Peel the cucumber. Then using the peeler, shave 16 wide strips from several sides of the cucumber (discard the seed core). In a medium bowl, toss the cucumber strips with 1/4 tsp salt and let sit until softened, about 10 minutes. Pat dry with paper towels.

Spread the creme fraiche generously on one side of each bread triangle (you may not use it all). Top half of the triangles with a folded cucumber strip, a curl of the salmon, and a grind of pepper. Set the remaining bread on top and serve.