The first time I had Cucumber Sandwiches, they were served as part of a high tea I attended with friends. To me, the idea of having savoury treats along with tea sounded quite weird. You see, Italians only have sweets with tea (mainly cookies or pastries), so the thought of eating a cucumber sandwich (of all things!) along with a cup of tea had never crossed my mind. But as you know, I am happy to try anything (well, almost!) and I was blown away. The freshness and slight crunch of the cucumber, the softness of the bread and the creaminess of the butter are a delight to the palate and they do indeed go really well with tea! I made these for my daughter’s Frozen birthday party. If you have seen the movie, you will know why… but for the rest of you… there’s a duet in the movie that goes like this: “[Hans:] I mean it’s crazy… [Anna:] What? [Hans:] We finish each other’s- [Anna:] Sandwiches! [Hans:] That’s what I was gonna say!” The whole song is hilarious and my girls love it. So sandwiches could not be skipped. I filled some with tuna, ceam cheese and olives and others with ham and cheese and then I made these cucumber sandwiches. They are refreshing, simple and delicious! Enjoy!
Cucumber Sandwiches
The perfect tea sandwiches: Cucumber Sandwiches!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cucumber
- Salt
- 6 slices of white bread
- Unsalted butter at room temperature
Instructions
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Peel the cucumber, then cut it into very thin slices.
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Put the sliced cucumber in a colander, sprinkle lightly with salt and leave it to drain for 20 minutes.
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Dry the sliced cucumber with kitchen paper.
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Generously butter each slice of bread.
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Arrange the cucumber on half the slices, overlapping each slice, and top with the remaining slices of bread.
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Pressing down, cut the crusts off, and then cut into triangles (or fingers).
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Serve immediately with tea.
These are great with added watercress as well. I also like to use cream cheese instead of butter and a little black pepper.
A classic, and for good reason. I must say I’ve never enjoyed them with butter—here is the US, it’s always mayo—but do really like the idea.
One of my very favourite things! Wish I could have a few of yours right now!
You knot, it’s funny… to a Southerner, this isn’t a Tea Sandwich – it’s lunch! We are known to habitually throw any random vegetable & mayo between 2 slices of bread and call it a sandwich. (heck, I’ve even slapped slow cooked green beans between slices of white bread and made a meal of it.) I’ve eaten cucumber sandwiches my entire life :). It’s a staple of the summer picnic here at Turtle Creek.
My favorite sandwich of all time is first a radish sandwich made the same way and then also the cucumber sandwich. Brings back sweet memories of my childhood being raised in a small town in Pa and the family always cooking the Pa Dutch way and Amish way. My mom was the best cook in the world and did not make it easy to stay slim. Grandma and all the four aunts cooked the same fantastic basic foods. Yum! Thanks.
We Brits do love our afternoon tea, cucumber sarnies a must for me, lovely. So pleased you removed the crust, too many people don’t understand the importance of this tradition.