Cucumber Cups with Smoked Trout Mousse, Lemon and Dill

These are the most refreshing hors d'oeuvres I know of and have used them on multiple occasions. The cucumber cups are the easiest thing to make; half the time I don't even do the scooping from the centre of the slice, which at times they may be termed more appropriately 'Cucumber Platters' than 'Cups'.



I loved it whenever people saw these green circles topped with the beige, gold and green being set out on the hors d'oeuvres table and asked what they were.
The mere sound of 'herring mousse' sent 'oohs' and 'aahs' through the room.
It sounded so bourgeois. But it's so incredibly simple! It's all in the name, as I frequently say.

The herring mousse has a strong flavour, so I would lend this recipe towards a more adult reception. Especially if there are spicy appetizers available nearby, or people are having relatively strong drinks, these are fit in as truly lovely and soothing.

When making the mousse, add the herring in ever so gradually, tasting it to ensure you don't ruin the mousse by too strong a flavour. Yes, I did just that! Thankfully with a further addition of lemon juice and cream cheese it evened out, but I had far more mousse than I needed! Fortunately we had two other occasions coming up, so I was able to use it then. It keeps quite well in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

I'd recommend, to make things easier, to make the mousse up to 1 day in advance. Cover and refrigerate it of course, and fill the cucumber cups up to 1 hour before serving.
The cucumber cups themselves can be made up to 2 days in advance.

Call me strange, but I never liked cucumber until just recently I did; and for no reason either. It was the oddest thing; all my life they've made me awkwardly nautious, but then suddenly one day a few months ago I tried them and "Delicious, this is more refreshing than watermelon!" And I haven't let it go since.
It must have been my Mother's cuisine and use of it, I'm sure; she can make anything taste delicious. Honestly, until I tasted her peas-bacon-cashew-and-gruyere salad, I thought I would never appreicate blue cheese. I love my her!



CUCUMBER CUPS WITH SMOKED TROUT

Makes 20

1/4 lb smoked herring
1/2 Cup cream cheese
1/2 t grated lemon zest
1 T lemon juice
cayenne pepper

1 recipe cucumber cups (recipe below)
1 tsp paprkia for dusting
20 super-thin lemon peel slices to garnish
20 dill sprigs to garnish*

ESSENTIAL EQUIPTMENT
piping bag with a large star tip

*I used dried dill from my spice cupboard instead; we didn't have sprigs available, and it still gave a nicely added texture.


Method

Place cream cheese, zest and juice in a food processor or blender; pulse to a smooth paste. Add herring gradually, not using all of it, or using more to taste.
Add cayenne pepper to taste.
Fill piping bag with mousse and pipe into cucumber cups.
Dust with paprika and garnish with dill sprigs and curled lemon peel.



CUCUMBER CUPS

Makes 20

1 cucumber

ESSENTIAL EQUIPTMENT
1 1/2-inch fluted pastry cutter, melon baller

Cut cucumber into about 20 3/4-thick slices. Cut each slice with the pastry cutter.
Using the melon baller, scoop out the soft centres to make cups, leaving a 1/4-inch layer as a base.

You can make these cups up to 2 days in advance. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Cream of Cucumber Soup

I needed a nice chilled soup to serve alongside a meal, and since we had several cucumbers, I began googling and comparing soups until this one truly interested me.

Just the idea of blending romaine with cucumbers then adding avocado! How much fresher and refreshing could a chilled soup become? Besides, the theme of the rather Italian meal was avocado, so this fit in perfectly.

This was served alongside Herbal Cheese Rolls before the main dish was brought in, and the gently cool texture really stimulated the appetite in such a soothing way.
I found it really made conversation more comfortable, definitely something to keep a note on for posterity!


CREAM OF CUCUMBER SOUP

4 romaine lettuce leaves, chopped (about 1.5 cups) (I use tightly packed cups)
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and chopped (about 1 cup)
1/2 cup water
1 T lemon juice
1/2 t crushed garlic (1 clove)
1/4 t salt
1/2 ripe avocado, chopped
1 T extra virgin olive oil
1 T minced fresh herbs, or 1 t dried (I use parsley)

Place the lettuce, cucumber, water, lemon juice, garlic, and salt in a blender and process until smooth. Add the avocado and EVOO and blend again until smooth. Add the herbs and blend briefly to mix. Serve immediately. For a chilled soup, refrigerate for 2 hours before servings.

My note: I doubled the recipe of course, and also added a little more lemon juice.
My mother tossed in some fresh basil and it really worked! Since the food culture of the evening was Italian, the basil only embellished the theme.

Garnishing idea: We sprinkled the top with chopped chives and a miniscule drip of whipping cream.