When I was living in Paris, I could always find a generous selection of seafood. Most larger open air markets had a range of fish from which to choose, and grocery stores also stocked everything from white fish to shrimp, scallops and even seasonal oysters. There’s something elegant about serving seafood to guests who come for dinner or an apéro as they call it in France. Paired with champagne, it sets a nice tone for the evening, but that can also turn into a pricey affair very quickly. With an eye toward the pocketbook and French recipes, I’ve created an easy and fairly inexpensive dish to start any evening on the right foot. It combines salmon with just a few other ingredients, which also makes it a time-saver, so you can spend your evening socializing rather than toiling away in the kitchen.

Salmon is easily found in Paris year-round. In fact, some thought it was a bit too abundant, as was evident on most sushi menus in town, where it often seemed like salmon was the only fish that is allowed on rice. You can even find salmon and salmon mousse at the Monoprix to grab alongside your kitchen staples.

While we may have rolled our eyes at the salmon saturation in Paris, we couldn’t complain too much, because it’s actually quite good. After trying the grocery-store salmon mousse, I thought, I bet I could jazz this up even more and turn it into a cocktail-party star. Seeing as the French aren’t big on bold spices, I decided to throw in some hot sauce to make it a little zestier, and a bit of crème fraîche to keep things French and airy. Place a decorative cucumber or tomato underneath, pop the champagne, and hopefully your evening is off to a great start.

Salmon Mousse

Makes about 30 appetizers

Ingredients

• 8 ounces smoked salmon

• 4 ounces whipped cream cheese

• 3 ounces crème fraiche

• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

• 1 tablespoon hot sauce

• 1 tablespoon fresh dill and some for garnish

• 1 English cucumber

• 12 cherry tomatoes

• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Grate alternating stripes of cucumber peel to make a decorative pattern and then slice.

2. Cut a small slice off the bottom of each tomato so it will stand upright, and then gently core the tomato, creating an opening on the top to fill.

3. In a food processor or blender, add the salmon, cream cheese, crème fraîche, lemon juice, hot sauce and dill, and pulse until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

4. Place the mousse in a pastry bag or Ziploc bag with the corner cut off so you can pipe the salmon onto the cucumbers and tomato.

5. Garnish with dill and serve.

For more great French recipes, check out Girls' Guide to Paris.