1.Crab and cucumber cocktail sandwiches
These miniature fancy open-faced sandwiches from the team at Gourmet Traveller make guests feel like they are visiting Queen Elizabeth herself for tea. Despite their fancy appearance, they’re as simple as they are special; the perfect party food for someone with limited time. All the ingredients can be prepared ahead of time, then it’s just a matter of assembly. And given the right presentation, such as on a glass pedestal with doilies, this dish can be the highlight of the table spread of a greeting for pre-dinner drinks.
In San Francisco, Dungeness crab is still in season and a natural for this dish, as is the Maryland blue crab. Alaskan king crab can be finely diced adding a nice moist roundness. All kinds of caviar would also work – think wasabi tobiko mixed with flying fish red tobiko for the colours of Christmas.
Crab and cucumber cocktail sandwiches (Serves 24)
Ingredients
- 500 gm (1 pound) picked blue swimmer or preferred crab meat
- 100 gm (4 ounces) crème fraiche
- Finely grated rind and juice of 1 lemon
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped chives
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 16 slices soft white bread
For spreading:
- softened butter
- 1 Lebanese (Persian) cucumber, thinly sliced into rounds on a mandolin
To serve:
- salmon roe
Method
- Place crab in a sieve over a bowl and refrigerate to drain well (1 hour).
- Meanwhile, whisk crème fraiche, lemon rind and juice, chives and oil in a bowl to combine, season to taste, then add 1 tablespoon warm water if necessary to achieve a thin mayonnaise consistency. Stir through crab and refrigerate until required.
- Butter one side of half the bread slices, cut three rounds from each slice with a 4.5cm-diameter cutter and top rounds with crab mixture. Butter both sides of remaining bread slices, cut three 4.5cm (2 inch) rounds from each and sandwich crab mixture. Arrange cucumber slices on top, top with salmon roe and serve.
