The Best Lox Toast
serves 1, with seconds
10 mins
I used to be a connoisseur of the best lox bagels in NYC. However, after going gluten-free a few years ago, I've had to mostly make do with lox sandwiches at home. For special occasions, I source my ingredients from the best-of-the-best in New York, including lox from Russ & Daughters and bagels from my favorite gluten-free bakeries, Knead Love or Modern Bread & Bagel. This might be a hot take, but when I'm at home I prefer making my sandwiches open faced.
Ingredients
- 1 bagel, maybe 2
- Tomato
- A large spoonful of capers
- Onion, preferably white or sweet, but red will also do
- Cream cheese (If you're really going all out, Russ & Daughter's Horseradish Dill cream cheese)
- Lox, sliced
Preparation
- Cut bagel in half (if needed), and toast until nice and crispy.
- Meanwhile, thinly slice onion. If onion is particularly strong (i.e. red onions) you can soak the slices in cold water for a few minutes and that will mellow them out. Pat dry when ready to assemble sandwiches.
- Slice tomato.
- Time to assemble the toasts. The order you place your ingredients is key— and also highly personal. My sister stands by the lox-on-top assembly, in which the fish acts as a blanket holding in the rest of the sandwich toppings. Unless I have top-grade lox that instantly melts in my mouth I prefer the reverse, starting with the cream cheese, lox, and the rest of my toppings. I like putting my capers on top for the visual, even if it means a few stray ones rolling around here and there. I'm sure that after a few lox toasts, you'll have your own tried and true order of assembly. Here's mine:
- Start by smearing a generous (Really generous. Don't be shy.) serving of cream cheese on each toasted bagel half.
- Then the lox, draped ever so nicely…
- Next, place the onion slices…
- The tomatoes, sliced to perfectly fit the bagel…
- And finally, top with a heaping spoonful of capers and a healthy smattering of freshly ground black pepper.
- Enjoy!
- (Optional) Go back for a second sandwich, as is usual for Sunday mornings.