A piece of toasted bread topped by your favorite spread. I call this lunch, dinner, and everything in between. Today we have a creamy, amazing salmon dip and a cilantro almond pesto topped with avocado. Easy to make and a crowd-pleaser!
How about not having to think about lunch and opting for some stuff on toast?
Just grab slices of good bread, toast it, and have one with cilantro pesto topped with avocado and the other with tablespoons of the most incredible smoked salmon spread ever?
Funny I should propose cilantro and salmon, and add the word incredible to the fish spread. It turns out I truly hate fish, really, really, really find it impossible to pass. I did hear you gasp btw. The horror, I know.
Before getting to the cilantro part, let me explain why I will advocate this smoked salmon spread, with capers, lemon, and hot pepper sauce till the day food blogs become obsolete: because ever since the first time I made it, circa 1996, I only got rave reviews, so ardent, so full of exclamation points, that there really is no need for me to taste it to know that I'm passing you one of those recipes.
About that cilantro, innocent-looking green leaf that tends to
brings out the best or worse in people.
Turns out I have a great feeling with it as long as it's a balanced amount. Put too much into it, and I get transported to the Chesapeake Bay, to a little restaurant near the water, where I and my older brother ordered a Thai soup, my first time eating that type of hot bowl, full of ingredients I could hardly distinguish, or pronounce at the time, and that, after taking a big spoonful of it, nearly choked myself unable to swallow it.
Guys, it had so much cilantro it was like taking a gulp from my grandmother's Diorissimo eau de toilette.
While I was trying to order something else, drinking glass after glass of cold water, my brother was happy to eat both bowls of soup, claiming the cilantro was the best part. So, from my experience, it's a love it or hate it situation.
Now, I found a way to eat this fragrant herb, which is one of a kind, and that is combined with certain ingredients; then it becomes extraordinary.
Did you know that it's amazing with raw almonds and roasted garlic in a pesto? I didn't either, but it is. This creamy pesto is a treasure of a recipe, one that I make a lot and eat with any pasta for a quick meal. Me and pasta, we're best friends. Me + pasta + cilantro pesto, best friends forever.
Other recipes you might like:
Pistachio Avocado Toast
Creamy Avocado Hummus
Royal Potato Pesto Egg Salad
Let me know in the comments below if you made this recipe and loved it, and also if you had issues, so we can troubleshoot together. I love to hear what you think, always. Thanks for being here, it's much appreciated.
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Stuff on Toast - salmon mousse and cilantro pesto
- Prep Time: 20
- Cook Time: 20
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 12 toasts of each 1x
- Category: Appetizers
- Method: Mixing
- Cuisine: International
Description
Stuff on toast is the answer to eating appetizers all day! Easy to make, they can be varied to please everyone.
Ingredients
For the smoked salmon spread:
- 8 oz. (225g) smoked salmon
- 8 oz. (225g) cream cheese, at room tº
- ¼ cup chopped green onions or scallions
- ¼ cup milk
- 2 Tbs fresh lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- ¼ to ½ teaspoon Tabasco sauce
- ¼ cup drained capers
- 2 Tbs chopped fresh dill
- Black pepper (to taste)
For the cilantro pesto:
- 1 cup fresh cilantro
- ½ cup almonds
- 4 garlic cloves (roasted**)
- ¼ cup freshly grated asiago cheese
- 1 Tbs lemon juice
- A few gratings of lemon zest
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 3 or 4 Tbs evaporated milk (or cream)
- Salt and black pepper
For the assembly:
- French bread (sliced and toasted)
- Avocados
- Extra capers
- Extra chopped cilantro/green onions/dill
- Olive oil and lemon juice
- Sea salt and black pepper
Instructions
For the smoked salmon spread:
- Put half the salmon, the cream cheese, green onions, milk, worcestershire sauce, and smallest amount of tabasco, lemon juice and zest in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the paddle attachment.
- Process until well blended.
- Taste, and add more tabasco if needed and some black pepper. Add the rest of the salmon and pulse using on/off turns, until blended but some large pieces of fish remain.
- Transfer to a bowl, add capers and dill, cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
- ** to roast garlic cloves: put unpeeled cloves in a baking pan, drizzle with olive oil and bake them for half an hour in a 150º oven.
For the cilantro pesto:
- In the bowl of an immersion blender or a food processor, process all of the ingredients until a paste forms. Check seasonings.
- Transfer to a bowl or plastic container, carefully add a thin layer of olive oil on top, cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
For the assembly:
- Cut the avocados in slices and arrange the toasts on a flat surface.
- Add a tablespoon or two of cilantro pesto to each toast, top with a few avocado slices, drizzle with a tiny bit of lemon, some salt and pepper.
- Top pieces of toast with a few tablespoons of salmon spread.
- Sprinkle some dill on top and a few capers.
- Eat within the next half hour.
Notes
Toppings: play around with favorite combinations.
Pesto: it's amazing with pasta and meat sandwiches.
Keywords: salmon dip, cilantro pesto
Oh my gosh these are fantastic! I sure wish my mother's stuff on toast was as delicious as these fine examples! Thank you so much for the shout out. I"m going to tell her thats someone in the ether is now aware of her cooking aesthetic!
I can imagine her face! And I could live on stuff on toast really
I've been out of the loop lately (very sick and tons of huge house projects) and so happy to catch up with all your gorgeous posts. I love salmon, fish of any stripe, but I have never had smoked salmon with cilantro or avocados. Sounds like a perfect combination. You are a good blogger friend to post food you're not fond of but know others will enjoy. Thanks for sharing Paula!
Well, smoked salmon and cilantro both talk to me and I could eat them all the time, I adore these recipes and think the two open-faced sandwiches - well that is how I see them - would make a fabulous aperatif with a chilled prosecco or would make a great lunch with a chilled white wine. Bookmarked!
You crack me up, Paula. I have a good friend who won't eat anything fishy because she ate so much fish growing up. I, on the other hand, will eat anything that swims so your two spreads sounds fabulous to me. Can't wait to try them both!
I love anything with avocado in it and this looks so delicious! I especially love how easy it is to put together and how gratifying and pleasing it is to eat. These kinds of meals are my favorite ones to prepare and enjoy!
Hooray for toast! I especially love avocado toast - generally just with EVOO + Avocado + crushed red pepper + salt. But you've kicked it up a notch with the pesto. The smoked salmon version looks delicious too.
Thanks too for all of the great links - so much to read, so little time!
I love, love, love these spreads! They look so hearty, healthy, and simply delicious! Perfect for a relaxing lunch... and dinner 🙂
Oh Paula...how I love stuff on toast! These are the light kinds of things I love to eat as meals when it's too hot to think about what to make for dinner in the summer. I will have to try them both because I love smoked salmon and am a huge fan of cilantro pesto as well! Beautiful photos! : )
Stuff on toast...I love it.!