Cucumber Cups Stuffed with Egg and Cod Liver
An appetizer that earns its place on the holiday table. It won't cost you much time or money, and the clever presentation is sure to surprise and delight your guests.
Cooking method
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Step 1:
How do you make cucumber cups stuffed with egg and cod liver? Peel a hard-boiled egg and grate it on the fine side of a box grater. You could just chop the egg with a knife, but grating it makes the filling more tender and airy.
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Step 2:
First, drain off as much oil as you can from the tin of cod liver. Then mash the liver with a fork.
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Step 3:
Combine the grated egg with the cod liver. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
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Step 4:
Wash the cucumbers. Using the metal scoring channel on a vegetable peeler, run a few shallow lengthwise grooves down each cucumber. Don't skip this step—it's what makes them look pretty! Without the stripes, the appetizer won't be nearly as eye-catching.
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Step 5:
Cut the cucumbers into small, easy-to-eat rounds—bite-sized, no taller than about 3/4 inch (2 cm). With a teaspoon, carefully hollow out the cucumber flesh without piercing the sides or bottom. You won't need the flesh.
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Step 6:
Heap the liver filling into the cucumber cups. Garnish with a small piece of lemon and fresh herbs. Done!
- Use medium or long cucumbers for this recipe, as straight as you can find—the whole look depends on it. This dish is perfect for winter, when smooth cucumbers like these are mostly what's available, and it's hardly an overdone appetizer, so it makes a worthy addition to a New Year's spread in particular. It comes together very quickly, and to my mind the ingredients are easy to find any time of year. I didn't use the cucumber flesh in the filling, as people often do—I think it would make the filling a bit watery and dull the flavor. But of course you can cut down on waste by using the flesh (all or part) in the filling. This time I used smoked cod liver, which gave the appetizer a light smoky note. The lemon balances the rich liver, and the cucumber adds juiciness and freshness. All upside, really. Enjoy!
- How do you hard-boil eggs? To keep them from cracking, start them in cold water over low heat. Boil for 9 minutes once the water comes to a boil, then transfer them to cold water to cool. The sudden temperature change makes the shells easier to peel.
- If the skin isn't tough, damaged, or bitter, there's no need to peel it off.
Caloric content of the products possible in the composition of the dish
- Fresh cucumbers - 15 kcal/100g
- Chicken egg - 157 kcal/100g
- Egg white - 45 kcal/100g
- Egg powder - 542 kcal/100g
- Egg yolk - 352 kcal/100g
- Ostrich egg - 118 kcal/100g
- Lemon - 16 kcal/100g
- Lemon zest - 47 kcal/100g
- Salt - 0 kcal/100g
- Ground hot pepper - 21 kcal/100g
- Fresh frozen soup greens in a package - 41 kcal/100g
- Greenery - 41 kcal/100g
- Cod liver in oil - 613 kcal/100g
