Salmon & Wasabi Cucumber Cups

Recipe: Danielle Bowater

Cucumber cups are light and refreshing, perfect for a summer party. I like to think of these cups as inside-out sushi although there is not a grain of rice in sight.

Prepare them no more than one hour before serving. Cover them with plastic wrap and keep them in the refrigerator so they don’t dry out. Serve immediately once filled.

• 1 long slender telegraph cucumber, approximately 4cm in diameter
• 12 small, thin slices of smoked salmon
• ¼ sheet nori, very finely shredded
• ¼ cup sesame seeds, toasted
• wasabi mayonnaise (recipe in archive)

Slice the cucumber into 15mm rounds. Using a pastry cutter, create rounds out of each slice, removing the skin. If you haven’t the right sized pastry cutter, trim off the cucumber skin with a knife, making sure you get a nicely rounded shape.

Using a melon-baller or teaspoon, make a small hollow in the top of each round to form a cup. Fill each cucumber cup with 1 teaspoonful of wasabi mayonnaise and top with an artfully placed piece of smoked salmon.

For decoration, sprinkle half the cups with the finely shredded nori and the other half with toasted sesame seeds (gently browned in a heavy-based frying pan).

Makes 12