Cucumber à la Danoise

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Small saucepan
• •Sharp paring knife
• •Small melon baller
• •Fine sieve or small food processor
• •Digital kitchen scale

Instructions

1. 1

   Cook the filling base

   Put the eggs in a small saucepan, cover with cold water, and bring to a boil. Cover, remove from the heat, and leave for 10 minutes before cooling them completely in cold water. Return the water to a bare simmer and poach the salmon gently until its center is opaque and separates into moist flakes, 6 to 8 minutes. Cool it completely, weigh out 100 g, and process or press it through a fine sieve until it becomes a close purée. Peel and chop the eggs, weighing out the same 100 g. Cold ingredients are essential here; warmth draws moisture from the cucumber and makes the filling smear.

   If the salmon gives you slightly more than 100 g after cooking, reserve the extra. Equal quantities in this recipe mean equal weights, not equal spoonfuls.
2. 2

   Shape the cucumber cups

   Peel the cucumbers and trim their ends. Cut each crosswise into eight pieces about 1⅜ inches (3.5 cm) tall. With a small melon baller, hollow each piece from one end, leaving a base and walls about ¼ inch (6 mm) thick. This is the cassolette, a small drum-shaped cup. The source also permits the boat profile represented by Barquettes (No. 314), but upright cassolettes are steadier on a home platter and waste less cucumber.

   Keep the walls even and the base intact. A thin spot becomes a tear after blanching, while a thick base leaves the bite clumsy under the teeth.
3. 3

   Blanch without softening

   Apply the vegetable treatment from Blanchings (No. 273) to the shaped cucumber, stopping after 45 to 60 seconds, when the pale green brightens and the walls bend only slightly under a fingertip. Cool the pieces as that preparation directs, then stand them cavity-side down to drain. If a cup softens, support it upright in a snug ramekin while it cools; if its wall tears, chop that piece for the cook and continue with the sound cups. The structure cannot be cooked back in, so pull them early.

4. 4

   Marinate then drain

   Place the cucumber cups in a narrow covered container or reusable food bag and add the chilled Cooked Marinade for Venison (No. 168). Turn gently so the marinade reaches every cavity, then refrigerate for 20 minutes. Drain the cups cavity-side down for another 20 minutes and blot the interiors carefully. If liquid beads again, chill them uncovered for 10 minutes and blot once more. A wet cup dilutes the filling and slides about the platter; drying is part of the preparation, not decoration.

5. 5

   Build the equal-parts filling

   Work the cold salmon purée against the side of a bowl until cohesive, then fold in exactly 100 g each of chopped herring and hard-boiled egg. Mix only until evenly distributed; the filling should remain visibly coarse but hold a mound from the spoon. If it crumbles, press one quarter of the mixture firmly against the bowl until the salmon and egg yolk bind it, then fold that portion back through. If it feels loose, chill it for 20 minutes. Ça se rattrape. Do not add mayonnaise or cream, which would change the book’s equal-parts garnish.

6. 6

   Fill and chill

   Set the drained cassolettes upright and spoon about 1 generous tablespoon (15 ml / 18 g) of filling into each one. Press lightly so the mixture reaches the bottom without splitting the cucumber, then leave a small, rough mound above the rim. Arrange the cups on their serving platter and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, loosely covered. Fill them no more than 2 hours before serving, or the cucumber begins giving water back to the garnish.

7. 7

   Finish with horseradish

   Just before serving, sprinkle each cassolette with a small pinch of the finely chopped fresh horseradish. It should sharpen the first bite without burying the salmon and herring. Bring the platter to the table cold and let guests take the cups with their fingers or small forks. Cooking well is not cooking fancy. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Choose long, straight seedless cucumbers with firm ends. A deeply curved cucumber gives uneven cassolettes, and a soft one will not recover during blanching.
• •Use plain ready-to-eat cured herring in wine brine, well drained. Herring packed in cream, mustard, or sweet sauce changes the book’s filling and makes it too loose.
• •Weigh the cooked salmon, drained herring, and shelled eggs separately. Equal weight is the governing ratio; their volumes differ too much for cups alone to preserve it.
• •A very dry Champagne or a sharp Muscadet handles the cured fish and fresh horseradish cleanly. Serve either properly cold.

Advance Preparation

• •Prepare the Cooked Marinade for Venison (No. 168) from its own entry ahead of time and chill it completely before it touches the cucumber.
• •The salmon, herring, and egg filling can be mixed 1 day ahead and kept tightly covered at 40°F (4°C) or colder.
• •The cucumber cassolettes can be blanched, marinated, drained, and chilled up to 8 hours ahead. Fill them no more than 2 hours before serving and add the horseradish at the table.
• •Do not freeze the finished bites. Freezing collapses the cucumber’s cell structure and leaves the cups watery after thawing.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 210g)