CUCUMBER CUPS FILLED with HERBED YOGURT and SMOKED SALMON
Makes 16 hors d'oeuvres

1 cup plain yogurt
a 14- to 16-inch seedless cucumber
3 scallions, minced
1/3 cup minced fresh dill plus dill sprigs for garnish
1/4 pound thinly sliced smoked salmon

Drain the yogurt in a fine sieve set over a bowl, its surface covered with plastic wrap, chilled, overnight. Cut the cucumber crosswise into sixteen 3/4-inch pieces and with a melon-ball cutter scoop out the centers, forming 1/4-inch-thick cups. Sprinkle the cucumber cups with salt and let them drain, inverted, on paper towels for 10 minutes. In a bowl combine well the yogurt, the scallions, the minced dill, salt and pepper to taste. Pat the cucumber cups dry gently and divide the yogurt mixture among them. Cut the salmon into eight 6- by 1/2-inch strips, halve the strips diagonally, and roll them up, beginning with the pointed ends and turning the edges slightly, to form rose shapes. Arrange the salmon roses and the dill sprigs decoratively on the yogurt mixture. The filled cucumber cups may be made 1 hour in advance and kept covered and chilled.