Tiny cucumber tea sandwiches stuffed with avocado, red bell pepper, and herb-infused cashew cream cheese. These miniature sandwiches are an ideal accent to an afternoon tea.
Makes 16 sandwiches
Ingredients:
Cucumber Tea Sandwiches
2 big avocados
1 batch of herbed cashew cream cheese (recipe provided) or vegan cream cheese purchased from a store
8 pieces of 100% whole wheat bread
1 cucumber, medium size, sliced into thin rounds
1 medium-sized red bell pepper, cut into thin matchsticks
½ tsp salt, divided ¼ tsp black pepper
Herb Cashew Cheese Cream
280g (9.8oz) (9.8oz) Uncooked unsalted cashews
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tablespoon minced rosemary
1 tablespoon minced thyme
1 teaspoon minced sage
3 minced garlic cloves
3 tbsp lemon juice (from 1 large lemon)
1 tablespoon yeast nutritional
12 grams (0.5 ounces) of cut chives
12 teaspoon yellow miso 14 teaspoon black pepper
Salt, to taste
red pepper flakes as a seasoning
How to prepare it:
Cucumber Tea Sandwiches
Cut each avocado in half and remove the pit and skin. With a fork, mash the avocado until it reaches guacamole consistency. Add a quarter teaspoon of salt. Set aside.
Remove the crust off each slice of bread, if desired. Cut each slice of sandwich bread into four squares of similar size, or use a biscuit cutter to create circles. Half of the bread should be liberally spread with cream cheese. Spread avocado on the other side of the bread.
Using a knife, cut the cucumber into extremely thin slices. Black pepper and the remaining 14 teaspoon of salt should be equally distributed over the cucumber segments. Place two to three thinly sliced cucumbers and two to three matchstick pepper slices between two slices of avocado toast and one slice of cream cheese bread. Serve immediately.
Herb Cashew Cheese Cream
Soak cashews in water overnight or for 15 minutes in almost boiling water. Once the cashews have softened, rinse and drain them.
Add the olive oil to a medium saucepan over a medium heat setting. Add rosemary, thyme, sage, and garlic once the oil is hot. Bloom for 30 to 60 seconds, or until the herbs become fragrant and the garlic becomes golden. Take off the heat and set aside.
In a blender or food processor, combine the following ingredients: drained cashews, herbs and garlic with the oil, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, cut chives, miso, and pepper. Combine ingredients until a spreadable consistency is reached. As required, scrape the sides of the food processor with a spatula. As needed, add one tablespoon of water to the cream cheese in order to thin it.
Taste for lemon juice and salt. Refrigerate for 4-5 days after transfer to an airtight container. After 4 hours in the refrigerator, the cream cheese can be shaped and seasoned with extra chives, red pepper flakes, and black pepper (optional).
