See Also: Appetizers · Cooking Club · Vegetable Dishes
Gefullte Gurken (Stuffed Cucumbers Vienna style)
From Dorothy McNett's recipes at www.dorothymcnett.com. Serve these as an appetizer with lots of beer or wine, especially on a picnic or backyard style party. Known as Gefullte Gurken in most beer halls.
1-2 cucumbers, about 6-8 inches long
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1-2 sardine or herring fillets, boneless
1-2 slices ham
1-2 hard cooked eggs
2-3 green onions
1-2 sour pickles (about 2 tablespoons diced)
1/2 - 1 teaspoon Dijon style mustard
2-3 tablespoons mayonnaise
Hungarian paprika for garnish
Scrub the cucumbers well. Cut off 1/2 inch of the top of each. Peel if desired or needed, but it is not necessary. You may wish to peel one and not the other so that when you arrange them on a serving plate, they will have contrasting colors. Using a long handled spoon such as an iced tea spoon or even a grapefruit knife, cut out the seeds and center pulp but keeping the shell of the cucumber about 1/4 inch thick so that it will not break or tear. Sprinkle the insides with some salt and set aside while you prepare the filling. In a bowl, mash the sardines to a paste, adding the insides of the cucumbers. Dice the ham, eggs, onions and pickles and add. Blend in the mustard and mayonnaise, using only enough mayo so that the filling holds together and is not too soft. Now with a paper towel, dry off the cucumbers as the salt will have caused them to weep a bit. Stuff them with the filling, tightly packing it in as much as possible. If time permits, refrigerate them 1-2 hours before slicing. When ready to serve, slice them crosswise slightly at an angle about 1/2 inch thick, to make attractive finger food shapes. Arrange on a beautiful platter, sprinkle with paprika and serve!
Recipe created 2014-03-02.
