Cucumber Curls In Butter And Mint Recipes

SHRIMP SALAD WITH CUCUMBER AND MINT

Steps:

• Cook shrimp in boiling water for 3 minutes, drain and cool in refrigerator.
• Put mint and lemon juice in food processor and pulse to coarsely chop the mint. Drizzle olive oil into processor while pureeing until mint is finely chopped.
• In a serving bowl, toss shrimp, cucumber, mint mixture, zest, salt and pepper to combine.
• This will keep in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 2 days.

RICOTTA GNOCCHI WITH ARTICHOKE, LEMON AND MINT

Steps:

• In a bowl, mix together 3/4 cup of the flour, the ricotta, salt and egg yolks. Dust a work surface with the remaining 1/4 cup flour. One cup at a time, roll the ricotta mixture into 1/2-inch-thick ropes. With a dough cutter or pasta knife, cut the ropes into 1/2-inch pieces. Transfer the gnocchi to a cookie sheet and freeze until ready to use.
• Heat the olive oil and butter in a saute pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook until lightly browned. Add the artichoke hearts and saute for 1 minute. Add the lemon juice and mint and salt and pepper to taste. Remove the sauce from the heat and add half of the Parmigiano-Reggiano; stir to thicken the sauce.
• Boil the gnocchi in a large (6-quart) pot of salted water until they float to the top. Remove the gnocchi with a slotted spoon and add to the sauce. Garnish with the remaining Parmigiano.

MINT CUCUMBER SOUP

Steps:

• Peel and cut 1 1/2 of the cucumbers into large chunks (set the remaining unpeeled 1/2 cucumber aside).
• Combine the cucumber chunks in a food processor with the yogurt, sour cream, olive oil, mint, salt, garlic and plenty of white pepper. Pulse, scraping down the sides, until completely smooth.
• Ladle the mixture into cold bowls or refrigerate until serving. Chop the remaining cucumber into fine dice and divide among the bowls. Swirl some sour cream into each bowl, drizzle with a bit of olive oil and scatter with mint and almonds.

CUCUMBER MINT TEA SANDWICHES

Steps:

• Place cucumber slices between layers of paper towels to remove excess moisture.
• In a small bowl, combine the mint, butter, and cream cheese; spread on one side of each slice of bread. Lay the cucumber slices onto the buttered side of 8 slices of bread. Sprinkle with salt. Top with the remaining slices of bread, buttered side down.
• Gently cut the crusts from each sandwich with a sharp knife. Cut the sandwiches in half diagonally and then cut in half again.
• Makes 8 whole sandwiches, or 16 halves, or 32 fourths.

BUTTER CURLS

Steps:

• To make butter curls, start with a stick of butter that has been at room temperature a few minutes but is still firm. The butter needs to be soft enough to peel without falling apart but cold enough to hold its shape. Heat spoon or butter curler in the very hot water, then pull firmly over the stick of butter to form curls. If the curls break the butter is too cold. Reheat the butter curler as needed.

CUCUMBER MINT TEA SANDWICHES

Steps:

• In a small bowl combine the mint, the butter, and the cream cheese and stir the mixture until it is combined well. Spread the bread slices with the butter mixture, top 3 of them with the cucumber, distributing the cucumber evenly and seasoning it with salt, and top the cucumber with the remaining bread slices. Cut off and discard the crusts and cut each sandwich diagonally into quarters.

CUCUMBER-MINT BUTTERMILK SOUP

Steps:

• In a blender, puree buttermilk with cucumber and mint until smooth. Strain mixture through a fine sieve. Skim off any foam from surface. Season with salt and pepper. Refrigerate soup until cold, at least 2 hours and up to 1 day.
• When ready to serve, stir until smooth. Divide among cups. Sprinkle with pepper, drizzle with oil, and top with mint leaves.