Smoked salmon and cucumber starters

Smoked salmon starters are always popular and elegant. Not to mention (again) that we love smoked salmon and that it's very healthy. This is an extremely easy way to spruce up some fancy-looking starters or to enjoy your favorite fish ingredient, like us ;). You just need half a large cucumber and half a brick of cream cheese with herbs (or garlic, or both) and some pretty-looking cocktail sticks (toothpicks if you really can't find any).

Idea inspired by the Good Food Magazine Romania, December 2010.

Another smoked salmon starter idea here (serving it on lemon-herb butter toast).

Ingredients (serves 2-4):

• 50 g smoked salmon
• 1/2 large cucumber - about 275 g (pick one of the thinner ones)
• 100 g (half a brick-package) of cream cheese (like Philadelphia or Exquisa or similar) with herbs or garlic (we used herbs)

Cut the cucumber half into chunky slices:

Spread one full teaspoon of cream cheese onto them:

Top with a strip of smoked salmon (folded so it doesn't fall off the cucumber slice) and stab it with a pretty stick :). That's it, dig in! :)