Sunday, July 27, 2008

Cucumber surprise


Cucumber surprise is a fresh and delicate recipe that will perfectly suit the summer, during which we generally want to enjoy something refreshing and tasty at the same time.

The cucumbers marry well in many recipes; Cucumber surprise is a surprise! Surprise in the sense that each small bite contains a heart of ricotta cheese, pine nuts and fresh basil.

The presentation of this dish is part of the success of this recipe; it needs to be prepared with patience; you have to compose each little packet and then you have to do the decoration of the plate. So take your time.
You can choose different presentations; the one in the picture has a Zen and geometric touch.
The white plate gives a highlight to the pale green of the cucumber.
I'm sure that your imagination will add something unique and special to your own presentation.

I have chosen the place holder SPIRAL to accompany this recipe.
Spiral is one of my favorites, I already presented it in the recipe Apple and cinnamon cake.

Spiral is a place holder that every guest can easily put next to his plate before going around for some conversation or a walk in the garden!
Spiral is made of copper wire (5 cm - 2" height).
They're inspired by the spin of the clock hands - the passage of time during the day.
They're very useful and at the same time they improve the decoration of your table.

I am planning of doing an episode of my blog where I will show how to make Spiral, so that you can try to prepare them yourself for your table.

If you want to see some of my other creations click here.

Time for preparation: 40 minutes
kcal per person: 60

For 4 persons you will need:
-1 Cucumber (medium)
-100 g ( 4 oz) ricotta cheese
-30 g (1 oz) pine nuts cut into small pieces
-20 fresh basil leaves
-salt and pepper

*cut the cucumber into strips in the vertical sense
*add in a bowl the ricotta cheese, the pine nuts and the fresh basil, chopped.
*add salt and pepper
*place a teaspoon of the mixture on one edge of the cucumber strip.
*roll the strip on itself up to half of its length; at this point bend it to 45 degrees and continue rolling until complete closure of the little packet
*now place the little packets on each plate, sprinkle with pepper

You can add some decorations on the plates, for example I put a little roll made using the strips of cucumber left.

3 comments:

Peter M said...

Very elegant plating, a surprise first course and surely set the tone for the rest of your dinner.

Lori Lynn said...

Francesca- that is a wonderful pairing of ingredients.

Borinkeando said...

Hi! Francesca , thanks to share this delicious entrée