Salmon Avocado Sandwiches (Canapes)
These Salmon Avocado Sandwiches (Canapes) are super easy, healthy and the perfect appetizer to serve at your next party. Combining avocado and smoked salmon is a delicious flavor experience you will want to taste over again. These sandwiches are the perfect breakfast or an easy dinner alternative to throw together in minutes.
Ingredients
- 1 long French baguette – sliced to 1/3-inch thick slices
- 8 oz smoked salmon (I use from Costco)
- 2 medium ripe avocados
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter - melted
- 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1/4 teaspoon fine salt - or to taste
- 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper - or to taste
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fresh dill or parsley for garnish – optional
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to a 350°F and prepare a nonstick baking sheet.
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Melt 4 tbsp unsalted butter. Slice 1 long French baguette into 1/3-inch thick slices. (You should get about 25-30 slices). Brush bread with melted butter and toast for 5-7 minutes or until edges are just barely starting to turn golden. Bread should be still soft in the center.
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While bread is cooling, make the avocado spread. In a medium bowl, place 2 medium avocados (pitted and peeled). Mash them with a fork, pastry cutter or potato masher (works the best).
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To the bowl, add 1/4 tsp fine salt, 1/8 tsp ground black pepper and 1 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice. Stir to combine.
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Spread about 1 tsp of the avocado spread over each bread slice. Top with a generous piece of salmon and garnish with fresh dill or parsley.
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Serve right away or tightly cover with plastic food wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve within the next couple hours.
Recipe Notes
How to Choose the Best Avocados?
- Check the color: avocados with blackish or a darker green share are more ripe. Vibrant green avocados are underripe and still need couple days or so to ripen.
- Gently press the avocado in the palm of your hand with your fingertips: ripe, ready-to-eat avocado will be firm, yet will yield to your gentle pressure. Hard solid avocados are not ripe yet, too soft are overripe or even bruised.
- Check avocado stem: if it’s still green and easy to remove, it’s ripe. If you’re not able to flick it off, it’s not ripe or if it’s too easy to remove and you see brown underneath, it’s overripe.
- Avoid avocados with dark spots on skin: these can be signs of bruising inside. Also, those with random soft spots is usually another sign of bruised avocado
How to Ripen Avocados?
- Store avocados in a warm place – this will speed up ripening process. If you want them to slowly ripen, keep them in the fridge.
- Place avocados in paper bag with fruit - place avocados in a paper bag and loosely fold down the top. Adding banana, apple or kiwi will increase the amount of ethylene gas produced and it will speed up the ripening process.
How to Keep Avocados from Turning Brown:
These are few tips that will help slow down the process. From personal experience, with these tips, avocado appetizers can last up to 4 hours before they slowly start changing the color.
- Adding acid - freshly squeezed lemon juice, distilled white vinegar or lime juice will help keep the bright green color and slow down the browning process.
- Cover and refrigerate – tightly cover with plastic food wrap as soon as sandwiches are arranged and store in refrigerator until ready to serve. Oxygen is what causes avocados start browning.