Smoked Salmon Sandwich

Ever heard of the term, “food desert?” It refers to the lack of fresh, unprocessed foods in certain urban or industrialized settings, whether due to location or financial means. By no means do I live in a food desert; the closest supermarket by my house is less than a block away and it regularly has full stock of basic perishables and canned goods. But even so, it’s an urban grocery store: constantly in a state of being picked-over and a bit grungy (well, sometimes, just down right dirty).

This weekend, I took a trip to another grocery store just a couple of blocks farther away and what a difference a couple of blocks makes. There isn’t a racial or economic separation between the two stores. They service the same demographics and are comparable in price. But the one farther away is just better: more and varied produce, clean aisles, and just an overall pleasant shopping experience. It invigorated me and made me want to cook!

This past week, a housemate went on a trip to Seattle to visit a friend and came back with a delicious present for everyone: smoked salmon from Pike Place Market. I made this beautiful and simple sandwich with some fresh ingredients from the grocery store. Now, we’ve just got to wait for the farmers’ market to start up in the neighborhood.

Smoked Salmon Sandwich

Smoked Salmon Sandwich

Ingredients

One bagel, sliced and toasted
2 tablespoons cream cheese
1 tomato, thinly sliced
Alfalfa sprouts
Smoked salmon or lox
Salt
Pepper
Optional: capers, onions, roasted red pepper, olive oil

Directions

1. Toast bagel slices in the broiler or toaster to preference. 

2. Spread 1 tablespoon cream cheese evenly on each half. Place thinly sliced tomatoes on one half and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. On the other half, place a bunch of alfalfa sprouts. The layer of cream cheese on each half should help keep the ingredients in place.

3.  Gently top smoked salmon or lox on the bed of alfalfa sprouts. Finish with capers, onions, roasted red peppers, or a dash of olive oil.

Smoked Salmon Sandwich

Notes

Everyone has a version of a smoked salmon sandwich. This one is by no means an “authentic” version of it but it was what I had in the fridge. I didn’t have capers but they would be delicious with the smoke salmon because of their sweet, briny taste. Onions will pack a nice punch in flavor and olive oil would be a nice subtle flavor underneath the rich smoked salmon and cream cheese. 

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