This cream cheese is the star of the Amar’e bagel (named for basketball player Amar’e Stoudemire) at Call Your Mother deli in Washington D.C. The salmon-flecked cream cheese is slathered onto a za’atar, wood-fired bagel stuffed with crispy shallots and pea shoot salad — not your bubbe’s bagel! It’s a decadent, modern take on traditional flavors and would make a great addition to any brunch table.
Read more about Call Your Mother deli and chef Daniela Moreira here.

Candied Salmon Cream Cheese Recipe
- Total Time: 25 minutes + 2 hours chill time
- Yield: Serves 6
Ingredients
- 4 oz cream cheese (your favorite brand)
- 1 piece (6-8oz) salmon fillet, skin on (center cut)
- 1 cup dark brown sugar
- ¾ cup honey
- 2 Tbsp sea salt
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
Instructions
- Cut salmon into strips about 1” wide. Pat dry, season with salt.
- In a medium pot, combine honey, olive oil, and dark brown sugar. Cook over low heat until sugar is dissolved.
- Let the sugar mixture cool completely then cover the salmon strips with the mixture. Place salmon on a wire rack (skin side down) and refrigerate for 2 hours, uncovered.
- Heat oven to 450°F. Cook salmon for 15 minutes. Remove and allow to cool completely.
- For the salmon cream cheese, shred the cool salmon into small pieces. Add cream cheese and mix together until completely combined.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes + 2 hours chill time
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: One-pot
- Cuisine: Basics
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Hi. I’ve been following The Nosher for about a year now. Love it.
This recipe is great, but it’s missing important things, like:
1. how do you make a za’atar bagel?
2. What’s on the inside aside from the salmon flecked cream cheese? (looks like strips of onion & lettuce. What, no green and/or red pepper?).
Thanks!
Hi Neil, this recipe is just for the filling. If you’re feeling up to the challenge of making bagels, use this basic recipe and sprinkle with za’atar before baking. As for the rest of the bagel, here it’s stuffed with cucumbers, lettuce and fried onion, but you can use whatever you like!
Looks like an interesting recipe.You might want to add that the cream cheese should be at room temperature so it would easily mix.
Hello, how long will this stay fresh in the refrigerator? Thank you.