Hot-smoked salmon, cream cheese and plump juicy capers are a classic in their own right. Add a good pinch of Australian native lemon myrtle and a little Scandinavian food flair and you’ll have a beautiful dish to serve when entertaining. Leftovers are fab as sandwich filling. Gluten-free and a dish that can help you save $ on your energy bill.
A couple of weeks ago I was working on a social media photography package for Prime Smoke Salmon, a New Zealand client I’ve come to work with recently. I’m a big fan of the quality of farmed salmon here in Australia and over the Tasman so I was happy to take on the project. Besides, the NZ fish is smoked using manuka wood chips which makes it uniquely delicious.
It was a lot of fun brainstorming serving ideas with Mum and just spending time together – cooking, shooting and chatting. Her visit was why I decided to use the native bush-food flavour of lemon myrtle, which if you’ve never tried it sits somewhere between lemon, lavender and bay.
“Let’s eat lunch”, I suggested to Mum – it was 2pm already – a fact we didn’t notice as we immersed ourselves in cooking and trial-baking cookies for #TheWholesomeCookBook sales team, so we decided to both take a break and “eat the props”.
Mum hesitated for a second: “It’s too pretty to eat!”. I agreed, but encouraged by a few words, Mum tucked into the spread and I followed suit.
It didn’t last long.
A Beautiful Salmon and Lemon Myrtle Cream Cheese Platter
Ingredients
- 125 g cream cheese lacose-free cream cheese or strained lactose-free yoghurt (Labneh)
- 1/4 cup natural Greek-style yoghurt or lactose-free yoghurt
- 1 teaspoon lemon myrtle powder
- 120 g hot-smoked salmon portion shredded
- 1 teaspoon baby capers in brine
- 2 small radishes sliced finely
- a few fresh basil leaves
- salt and pepper to taste
To serve:
- lemon wedges
- crackers or bread of your choice
Instructions
- Mix together the cream cheese and yoghurt until smooth. Spread in swirls on a large plate or platter. Sprinkle with lemon myrtle powder, dot with bite-sized pinches of smoked salmon and baby capers. Arrange sliced radish and basil leaves around the platter. Sprinkle the lot with a little salt and pepper.
- Serve with lemon wedges and crackers or bread of your choice.
4 comments
This looks stunning Marty – your Mum was right, what a great idea for entertaining.
Your pictures and ideas are beautiful. Where did you buy the lemon myrtle powder from?
Love this simple and delicious idea! Great flavors and perfect for a gathering! Your mom is so funny, “Lets eat the props” LOL…Just pinned!
This really is almost too beautiful to eat . That hot smoked salmon looks tender and so gorgeously orange. Such a lovely dish