Gremolata-Stuffed Cucumber Barrels to Welcome in the New Spring Season!
Do you want to impress your dinner party guests without breaking a sweat? These delicious, light, and flavorful one-bite snacks will satisfy even the most distinguished palates. And you can make them in advance and keep them in the fridge for up to a full day before your event! These stuffed cucumber barrels are flavor-packed and addictive, yet somehow they don’t spoil your appetite before dinner is served.
Ingredients
- 6 small Lebanese Cucumbers (fresh baby cucumbers, roughly 6” long and 1” diameter), cut into ¾” sections, or barrels. You can get about 7-8 “barrels” per cucumber.
- ½ shallot
- 1 lemon
- ¼ - ½ clove raw garlic finely minced or microplaned
- 1 cup almonds or pine nuts toasted and finely chopped
- 1 cup fresh parsley
- ¼ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Salt
- Freshly Ground Black Pepper
- Cayenne Pepper a pinch, to taste.
Instructions
- Wash your cucumbers under cold water and dry them
- Cut the ends off each cucumber, and cut each cucumber into 3/4” “stumps” or “barrels”
- Take a melon-baller and carefully extract the center of each “barrel” from the top, leaving the bottom intact
- Essentially, you are scooping out the insides of the cucumber barrel to allow space to house your gremolata stuffing
- Place your cucumbers on a paper towel and gently salt the cucumbers and allow to sit for 15 minutes
- To make the gremolata stuffing, finely dice ½ shallot, and place in small bowl with the lemon zest and lemon juice
- Add a tiny pinch of salt
- Finely mince your ¼ or ½ garlic clove
- Add to the shallot and lemon mixture
- Toast your almonds or pine nuts and finely chop them once they have cooled
- Add these nuts to your chopped parsley and incorporate your olive oil, the shallot & garlic mixture
- Season to taste with salt, pepper, and a small pinch of cayenne powder
- Combine mixture thoroughly
- For assembly, carefully spoon the gremolata mixture into the empty cucumber barrels, and top with fresh black pepper or cayenne