Cucumber & Mint Butter Sandwiches

The BBC Proms season starts next month so it’s putting me in mind of picnics in Hyde Park before the concerts start. Last year we heard a lot of Tchaikovsky, this year it will be Beethoven.  I’m planning picnics that are quintessentially English and came across this recipe for cucumber sandwiches. This version comes from Crabtree & Evelyn.

1 small cucumber

32 small fresh mint leaves

125g softened, unsalted butter

1tsp grated orange zest

8 thin slices white bread, crusts removed

8 thin slices brown bread, crusts removed

I have to admit I don’t associate Crabtree & Evelyn with food but came across a wonderful second hand cookbook by them from 1989/

The bread needs to be firm and good quality, or the sandwiches will just fall apart.

Peel the cucumber, halve it lengthways and then cut cross ways, as thinly as possible into half-moon shapes. My addition to the recipe is letting them rest on kitchen paper, while you do everything else, to soak up a little of the water.

Chop the mint leaves and put them in a small bowl with the butter and orange zest. Mash it all together until soft and well combined.

Spread each slice of white bread with the butter – C&E reckon about 1 ½ tsp each and layer the cucumber on it. Top with the wholemeal bread.

Cut into quarters or squares with a sharp serrated knife. Garnish if you must.

I haven’t made these yet but plan to. The boy will need persuading that these will only be part of a much more substantial picnic.

Santini Tomato & Courgette Ribbon Salad

This is one of the boy’s favourite summer salads, probably as it is quite substantial and filling. It's a lovely side dish.

4 long thin courgettes

225g Santini tomatoes

1 tbsp lemon juice

2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

½ a mild red chilli

1 clove garlic

10 mint leaves

Flaky sea salt & ground pepper

If you can’t find Santini tomatoes (yellow baby plum tomatoes), any baby plum or even cherry tomatoes will work. We are growing a variety called Russian Purple so I'm looking forward to substituting those later in the year. Small courgettes are more tender and work best but all I could find was one big fat one, but it worked just as well really.

Use a vegetable peeler to make thin ribbons of the courgette. We do have a mandolin but the boy isn’t allowed anywhere near it. Halve the tomatoes lengthways so you get nice long ovals.

I use about an inch and a half of chilli – a big fat red one. Deseed if you have cut into the area where the seeds are, and remove any membrane. The boy is chilli sensitive but this should add background depth rather than heat.  Chop it as finely as you can for the same reason.

Chop the garlic and mint leaves. Add to the bowl along with the oil and lemon juice and toss together. The courgettes look nice flecked with red and green. Season well. I always let the boy do this.

Leave for half an hour so everything gets to know each other, but best not left too much longer than that. The boy had the great idea of using some rustic bread to mop up the oily, garlicky, minty dressing once we'd finished the salad.

Mrs Beeton's Toast Sandwich

I’m including this partly as the boy is the sandwich monster and partly because I can’t imagine anything so meagre.

One thin slice cold toast

2 thin slices buttered bread

Salt and pepper

We have a first edition of Mrs Beeton’s “Household Management” with numbered paragraphs. This appears on #1877. It’s described as good for invalids. The boy is not convinced that the salt and pepper will not make this any less meagre. I’m not convinced it offers much in the way of nutrition for invalids.

The boy offers this alternative. Apart from the bread, which came from the farmers market, everything came from a discount supermarket, so it was very cheap

Three slices good country bread, thick sliced. First slice goes down on the chopping board. A couple of slices of German peppered salami. A couple of slices of Gouda. Second slice goes on. Lettuce, sliced tomato and sliced Yorkshire or Wiltshire ham. Mayonnaise. Done!

Turkish Pickles

I am constantly buying Turkish pickles and the boy suggested we have a go at our own version. I’m listing the vegetables we used but anything goes really. It made 3 big jars

Small white cabbage

2 carrots

6 baby cucumbers (Gherkin size)

1 red pepper

2 stalks celery

2 Dolmas style pepper

1 mild red chillies

2 cloves garlic

White wine vinegar

Much chopping to start with but keep everything quite chunky. The cabbage needs to be wedges, not individual leaves. The Dolmas peppers are very pale green  and the cucumbers no bigger than a finger. The chillies and garlic are really just to flavour the vinegar.

The fun part – and the only part the boy wants to help with- is layering all the veg in the jars. I think these should be a colourful joy to look at.

Almost cover the vegetables with white wine vinegar and then top up with water to dilute it slightly. I add a little rock salt though this isn’t traditional. I’ve also seen versions with a higher water to vinegar ratio so have a go at what suits you. The boy and I like sharpness in a pickle so we’ve gone for 80% vinegar, 20% water.

Leave for 2 weeks. Enjoy with fatty lamb chops and rice. Or anything.