You can whip these up in seconds and impress people with a colorful array of flavors, presented on a refreshing, crunchy bite of cucumber! (Pictured above are lemon cucumbers - they have a white or pale yellow skin - so that's why they look a little different. This one was a little old so I had to take some of the skin off, but normally I leave it on!)
For the simplest version of this - I top with a pre-made spice mix, or a combo of salt + one other spice. Pictured above, the cucumbers are topped with
chaat masala (my favorite Indian spice mix),
special chili flakes + flaky smoked salt, and
furikake.
Furikake is m
y current favorite topping - it's a Japanese blend of seaweed, sesame seeds and other spices. (I
love all three of these kinds but your local Asian grocery store probably has a good one!)
Side note: I've been recently fascinated by seaweed ever since I listened to
these two podcasts about it, and then went to a
seaweed foraging class last month (which I still need to write about)! Apparently seaweed is SUPER nutritious AND farming it (in the ocean) can actually help combat climate change. Furikake is a great beginners-way to start eating seaweed if you're interested in checking it out!
If you're not into spices, you could also top cucumbers with a squeeze of lime and flaky salt, maybe a quick chop of fresh herbs and/or a little dollop of yogurt on each slice.
If you want a more protein packed version, I love using cucumber slices as the base for "smoked salmon bites" - top with a small piece of smoked salmon, a squeeze of lemon, and either furikake OR pickled onions; maybe a dollop of yogurt too if you're feelin it.
You could easily turn this idea into a full veggie side dish instead of a snack! Simply add sliced tomatoes and peaches/stone fruit to cucumber slices on a larger platter, drizzle with oil and vinegar/lemon on top, chop up some fresh herbs, maybe thinly sliced or pickled onions, salt/pepper and you're in business!
OR keep it simple and try a sprinkle of spices on your watermelon, cantaloupe, thinly-sliced raw zucchini, tomatoes, peaches, etc. Plain produce is - of course - wonderful, but a little spice, a sprinkle of salt, and a quick hit of lemon or lime can take it to a whole new level while still letting the freshness of summer flavors shine through.
I'd love to hear what fun combos you come up with! Happy slicing and spicing!
Love,
Jess
