an ethereal schmear

While I never do it, I love reading the comments other people leave on online recipes. For me, they complete a recipe’s journey. It’s especially useful when numerous readers post a similar point. When they do, I usually take it to heart. This often saves me from wasting a morning or afternoon’s effort. And sometimes following these tweaks and turns yields heavenly results, as was the case with this smoked salmon spread.

The original recipe in the New York Times for smoked salmon, fromage blanc and caper spread caught my eye. But I’m glad I followed the comment trail, many readers suggested swapping Greek yogurt for harder to find fromage blanc. And I am not a fan of too many capers, they can overpower a delicate recipe. I prefer them as a garnish, so I skipped adding them to the recipe.

Turns out the secret ingredient (along with the Greek yogurt) is a hardboiled egg!

For the smoked salmon spread start with  four ounces of smoked salmon.

Place in a food processor.

Purée to a paste. 

Add a peeled hardboiled egg.

Pulse until minced.

Add four ounces of Greek yogurt, four ounces of softened cream cheese, juice, of one-half lemon, and a quarter teaspoon of kosher salt. 

Pulse a few times until light, fluffy and well blended. 

Scrape into a serving bowl, fold in 1½ tablespoons of chives. Cover and chill. 

Serve with baguette slices.

Or crackers.

Following the paper trail is making this a staple in my canapé repertoire.

And of course… the morning after it makes for an out of this world schmear.