Today's Review: Tesco Finest Smoked Salmon Canapés With Beetroot Pearls

Christmas time means party time, and while I'm not one to throw a formal gathering, I was sent some vouchers by Tesco with which to try out their Finest party range. There are a few interesting treats to try from, though unfortunately I couldn't find the most interesting sounding in my local stores, such as the saucy test tube bubble shots, popping candy chicken skewers and glitter laden prawns. So, dejected, I grabbed a few of the others on offer, including these smoked salmon canapés.

You can't beat a bit of smoked salmon and cream cheese, so I knew this would be a winner for me. This is an appetiser you can assemble yourself, consisting of seeded cracker breads, which you can top with lemon and chive sour cream, smoke salmon and tiny beetroot pearls. As such, I attempted to emulate the picture on the front to the best of my ability:

Well, I won't win any points for that one, but you get the gist. There are certainly some interesting ingredients here, and while I didn't endeavour to sample them individually, all the flavours came out pretty well when all stacked atop each other. The crisp bread is a good base, nice and crunchy, with some great added texture from the seeds. The sour cream is fantastic too, creamy and smooth with a lovely citrus hint. The salmon is, well, just good salmon. Nothing fancy added to it, but it stands well on its own. The beetroot pearls are perhaps the most interesting touch, they look great, and in pearl form it's easy to put on as much or as little as you like. Not that the flavour is intrusive, just a nice, dark layer that brings everything together quite nicely. I did find that the pearls were easier to put on the sour cream layer, otherwise they tend to roll off the salmon. They may not look as nice that way, but you'll get a better spread of flavour.

So yeah, these taste damn good. Creamy, crunchy smoked salmon delights that look pretty fancy to boot. You can assemble them all yourself before a party, or let the guests go at them like a fancy Attack A Snak. The best thing is that there's plenty of all the elements to go around. I was able to pile everything on pretty thickly without running out at the end. I even had enough of the sour cream left over to put on a bagel, which was awesome. These canapés make for great party food, and I can't wait to try out the other treats I picked up.

My rating: 5/5