A staple at Spur Gastropub in Seattle. Serves 3–4 (16 crostini).

Ingredients

Crostini

  • 1 baguette
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • Salt and pepper

Topping

  • 8 oz cold smoked salmon, unsliced piece
  • 8 oz mascarpone
  • 4 oz pickled shallots
  • 2 oz capers
  • Extra virgin olive oil, to taste
  • Microgreens, for garnish (optional)

Instructions

1. Crostini

  1. Heat the oven to 350°F.
  2. Thinly slice the baguette on a bias so each slice is about 3 inches long. You need 16 slices.
  3. Lay the slices on a cookie sheet, brush with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper.
  4. Bake 10 minutes. Let them cool completely so the mascarpone doesn’t melt.

2. Assemble

  1. Let the mascarpone sit out 10–15 minutes so it spreads easily. Stir it smooth.
  2. Spread a thick layer of mascarpone on each crostini, leaving a thin rim of bread showing.
  3. Lay a few pieces of pickled shallot on the mascarpone.
  4. Cut the salmon across the grain into chunky pieces, about ½ oz each. Set one on each crostini over the shallots, slightly off-center.
  5. Add one or two capers per piece.
  6. Drizzle olive oil over the exposed mascarpone so it pools a little.
  7. Finish with a small tuft of microgreens on the salmon. Serve right away.

Notes

  • Layering follows a photo of Spur’s plated crostini; the source gives no assembly steps. Microgreens appear in the plating but not in the ingredient list.
  • Buy an unsliced piece of cold-smoked salmon from a fish counter. Pre-sliced lox is too thin to cube.
  • For a more melt-in-your-mouth texture, use a fatty cut (smoked king or Scottish/Atlantic, ideally belly) and let it sit out 15–20 minutes before plating. A 104°F sous vide bath for 15–20 minutes works too; go straight from fridge to bath to plate.
  • Crostini can be baked a day ahead and stored airtight.
  • Pat the capers dry so they don’t make the crostini soggy.
  • Quick pickled shallots: thinly slice 2 shallots and cover with ½ cup red wine vinegar, ½ cup water, 1 tbsp sugar, and 1 tsp salt, warmed until dissolved. Ready in 30 minutes; better after a few hours.