Perfect Cucumber Sandwiches
The traditional cucumber sandwich is of British origin. It is made from thinly sliced cucumber sandwiched in crustless white bread.
This is a favourite garden party offering as well as picnic fare. It is also a fantastic, refreshing and filling tea time snack.
Ingredients:
(Makes 9)
1/2 cucumber, peeled
Salt
6 thin slices of good white bread
Unsalted butter, at room temperature
White pepper
Cut the cucumber into slices as thin as you can make them, and put in a colander or sieve. Sprinkle lightly with salt (don’t go overboard) and leave for 20 minutes. Taste to check you haven’t oversalted them: you can rinse them at this point if so.
Lay out a few pieces of kitchen paper on the work surface, place the cucumber slices on them, and pat dry with more paper.
Lay out the bread and butter each slice generously. Arrange the cucumber on half the slices, overlapping each round, and sprinkle with ground white pepper. Top with the remaining slices.
Pressing down firmly, cut the crusts off, and then cut into neat fingers, triangles or quarters of roughly equal sizes. Serve immediately, with good tea.
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As a variation to the above recipe, marinate the cucumber slices in 2 tablespoons of white wine vinegar and a pinch of salt. Leave to soak for half an hour. Drain and pat with plenty of kitchen paper towels. The worst thing for a cucumber sandwich is a soggy one.