Smoked salmon tartines

There's something about smoked salmon that makes me go crazy. Maybe it's the fact that it was one of the first "sophisticated" foods I tried, at the tender age of 1 1/2 years old. My parents and I were catching a connection at Heathrow International airport in London and -all of the sudden- I got hungry. The only thing around was a small cart that sold -you guessed it- smoked salmon over dark bread and salted butter. Not only I ate it all and immediately stopped crying - I also discovered one of my favorite foods.

Years later I learned to appreciate another form of salmon: gravlax. Hailing from Sweden, this is one of the delicatessen that I truly enjoy from Northern Europe. My smoked salmon tartines are gravlax inspired, but are much simpler to make and they don't require any marinating. I came up with them last night, as it often happens while I was trying to find a new way to indulge in my favorite smoked fish. They are easy and quick to make, but the results are pretty impressive.

SMOKED SALMON TARTINES

Good quality smoked salmon
Crackers (water crakers work well)
Cream cheese
Fresh dill
Dijon mustard
Capers
Lemon
Pepper

Soften the cream cheese by leaving out of the fridge for a half hour. In a small bowl, mix the cheese, mustard and chopped dill until they form a uniform cream.

Spoon a teaspoon of the cheese mixture on each cracker, top with a couple of capers and a piece of salmon and dress with pepper and lemon juice.