Cool Cucumbers Stuffed with Herbed Pistachios Crumbles

When it’s blazing hot the last thing you want to do is turn on the stove, grill or anything that produces more heat.  Right now climbing into an ice box sounds lovely.  With rising temps it’s important to stay cool by any means necessary, including eating cooling, hydrating foods.  Cucumbers are the best example of this.

While this recipe is intended to be an appetizer, you can totally eat a few as a light meal.  Heat can destroy an appetite and make you steer clear of food as a whole, which is not healthy.  Don’t stress about having to eat a full formal meal.  Some days call for breaking the norm and having a light dish as a meal.  This works perfectly providing hydration, cooling, protein, fiber and most importantly flavor.

Truly great food comes from taking a few, simple ingredients and combining them in a way that lets the food speak for itself.  Cucumbers, pistachios and dill are all classic ingredients that please a crowd.  Not to mention they’re loaded with nutrition.  Up the game with pumpkin seeds, parsley and extra virgin olive oil and you have a recipe for delicious success.

I love to bring these herbed pistachio crumble stuffed cucumbers to parties.  That’s partially due to be raised to bring the host a gift and to make sure there is something I can eat at the party.  Life hack: woo your host and circumvent eating food that’ll undo your health progress by bringing a healthy dish of you own.  This is particularly helpful when you’re focusing on eating well and/or have a food sensitivity.

This recipe makes roughly 48 hors d’oeurvres.  Feel free to cut it down for a smaller gathering or to make your own personal batch.

Ingredients:

5               Organic Cucumbers, Peeling Optional
168    g   Pistachios
168    g   Plain Pumpkin Seeds
30     mL   Water
1        g   Dried Dill Weed
1        g   Dried Parsley
60     mL   Olive Oil

Directions:

Put water, herbs and half the olive oil in a blender or food processor – I prefer a Ninja.  Allow dried herbs to soak up fluid while prepping the rest of the ingredients.

Measure out pistachios and pumpkin seeds and add them to blender.  Drizzle with the remaining oil and allow to sit.

Peel or don’t peel your cucumbers.  It’s up to you.  Know you’re audience though and check to see if the peel is prickly.  That happens.  If so, peel.

Slice cucumbers in 1 inch sections.  Scoop out center, leaving a base to hold crumbles, with either a small spoon or melon baller.  Set scooped sections aside.

Blend herbs, nuts, seeds and oil until evenly crumbled.

Stuff crumbles into cucumbers.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Take left over crumbles and mix them with scooped cucumber centers to enjoy a chef snack loaded with flavor, protein, fiber, magnesium, iron, zinc and calcium.  You deserve it for being so thoughtful.

Bonus: Crumbles make a delightful salad topping or even delicious, nutritious, gluten-free alternative to breading for chicken and/or fish.