Savory salmon and salty feta cheese paired with sweet apricot jam on crackers.
It’s been awhile since my last post, even though my head has been full of ideas that just did not transfer into fruition. Last year was kind of a rough year in many ways, besides the covid crisis, so I hope to kick it up for 2021 with some fresh new ideas.
I really like this salmon appetizer because it’s both sweet and salty. The pan fried salmon is dusted with some of my favorite savory spices…cumin, paprika, and garlic. Even though the salmon has a lot of depth to it, I wanted some cheese to go with it. I began with goat cheese crumbles, but it needed a bit more salt, so I switched to feta, and it was perfect. But I wanted another layer of flavor to balance out the taste, so I added a smear of apricot jam. I’m sure another jam would work too, but I like that apricot jam isn’t as sweet. And adding a squeeze of orange juice to thin it out also toned down the sweetness.
For this, I used a simple cracker because I didn’t want it to fight with the salmon, feta and apricot, since they are the stars of this appetizer. Unfortunately, it was raining when I made this, so my taste testers were unavailable to give their critiques. And Sunny, my daughter and photographer, doesn’t like salmon, so the hubby and I ate them all. Yum…we gave them two thumbs up. So, give these a try and I hope it’s thumbs up with you too!
Makes 12
- 1 salmon filet, about 5-6 ounces
- ½ tsp olive oil
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp cumin
- ½ tsp paprika
- ½ tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp garlic salt
- ½ tsp pepper
- Oil for frying
- Feta cheese for garnishing
- Chives, for garnishing
- 2 T apricot jam
- 1 T fresh orange juice (can use regular, cara cara, or blood orange)
- 12 crackers, such as Stoned Wheat Thins or any mild cracker
Spread the olive oil over the top of the salmon only. In a small bowl, combine the salt, cumin, paprika, onion powder, garlic salt, and pepper. Sprinkle over top of salmon, rubbing it in.
Heat a skillet for a few minutes on medium high. It’s important to add cold oil to hot pan because this prevents the salmon from sticking to the pan. Place salmon flesh side down. Look at the sides of the salmon as it cooks. When it’s almost cooked half way up, flip the salmon. Turn off the heat, cover and time it for 8 minutes. Your salmon will be perfectly cooked. Meanwhile, mix the jam and orange juice. Set aside. Finely chop a few sprigs of chives. Set aside.
When the salmon is cooled, flake into pieces. Smear jam on cracker, top with the salmon and feta crumbles. Garnish with a few chives.
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