Classic smoked salmon bagel

A classic brunch dish in a few easy steps.
There’s something just so right about the combination of smoked salmon and cream cheese. Sure – you can glam it up with all sorts of extra ingredients if you want to, but once you’ve got your basics in place, all you really need is a few things to add piquancy and you’ve got a café-style breakfast.
Serves 4
Ingredients
180g hot smoked salmon
4 sourdough bagels
1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
125g cream cheese (plain or flavoured)
2 Tbsp capers
Salt and pepper, to taste
Fennel fronds or dill to serve
1 lemon
Method
Toast the bagels, then spread the cream cheese on both sides of the bagel. Flake the smoked salmon over the bottom half of the bagel. Top with a sprinkle of capers and a few slices of red onion. Add a squeeze of lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste, and some fennel or dill fronds. Grate a little lemon zest over everything, place the other half bagel on top, sit back, and enjoy.
Note: Even red onions can be quite strong. To mellow the flavour, soak the slices of onion in cold water for 5 minutes, then drain on a paper towel before using.