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Salmon Canapes
1 can salmon, small 1 tablespoon onion juice 2 tablespoons lemon juice Pepper and salt 1 teaspoon salted almonds, chopped 1 teaspoon chives, chopped Russian dressing stuffed olives Remove skin and bones from salmon and flake. Add onion and lemon juices, seasoning to taste, almonds and chives. Moisten with Russian dressing, heap on toast and garnish with sliced stuffed olives. Serves 12.
A cocktail-hour spread from the era when canapés were assembled by the dozen on toast cut into rounds and diamonds. Nothing here is difficult; the only real decisions are the size of the can and how much dressing you add.
- "1 can salmon, small"The small can of the period was probably the half-pound flat, close to today's 6 to 7.5 oz can, though the recipe does not specify. Pink or red sockeye both work; red gives better colour against the olives.
- Skin and bonesCanned salmon still comes with vertebrae and skin. They are edible and calcium-rich, but for a smooth spread remove them as directed, and press out the packing liquid or the mixture will slump on the toast.
- Onion juiceA tablespoon of onion juice means juice pressed or grated from a raw onion, not chopped onion. Grate half a small onion on a fine rasp and use the liquid and pulp; the point is flavour without texture.
- Russian dressingIn this period Russian dressing is mayonnaise with chili sauce or ketchup, sometimes a little grated horseradish. Add it a spoonful at a time — the mixture should hold a heap, not spread like a dip.
- Salted almondsThese were a stock cocktail nut of the 1920s and 30s, blanched almonds fried in oil or butter and tossed in salt. Any salted almond will do; chop them at the last moment so they stay crisp.
- The toastCut crustless bread into small rounds or squares, toast or oven-dry it until fully crisp, and let it cool before topping. Warm or soft toast goes soggy under a wet salmon mixture within minutes.
- Yield and timingThe recipe says only "Serves 12"; the number of pieces will depend on how large you cut the toast. Mix and chill the salmon ahead, but assemble shortly before serving.
Canapés like this belong to the between-the-wars fashion for the small, cold, highly seasoned mouthful served with cocktails — a style of entertaining that put a premium on speed, colour and the pantry shelf. Canned salmon was the enabling ingredient: cheap, always available, and by the 1900s a fixture of American and British kitchens far from any river. The combination here — fish bound with mayonnaise-based dressing, sharpened with lemon and onion juice, and finished with chopped nuts, chives and a slice of pimiento-stuffed olive — is characteristic of the period's canapé formula, in which garnish did the decorative work that the mixture underneath could not. The name itself is French for a sofa or couch, applied to a savoury topping seated on a piece of bread.