Cucumber Appetizers With Sardine Spread

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These cucumber appetizers with sardine spread are very easy to prepare, are gluten-free and dairy-free and absolutely healthy. They are ideal for an aperitif or as a savory snack, so why is this recipe not on your Healthy Meal Plan or Batch Cooking yet? 

Cucumber appetizers with sardine spread and an olive on top

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How to prepare these cucumber appetizers with sardine spread

If you have seen any of my other savory recipes, you will know that I prefer to eat my pâtés, or spreads, with vegetables instead of bread.

With this recipe, we follow the same idea and, in addition, we present it in the form of appetizers, so that, since they are eaten in a single bite and with the help of two fingers, there are no excuses for not eating more vegetables.

The preparation is as follows:

  1. Prepare the pâté by mixing all of the ingredients in a food processor.
  2. Cut the cucumber into slices.
  3. Add a teaspoon of sardine pâté to each cucumber slice.
  4. Place one (or half) olive on top of the pâté.

For this recipe, it’s not essential to have a food processor since the pâté could be prepared with only the help of a fork if you boil the carrots.

Personally, I prefer to use the processor to be able to add the whole sardines to crush all of the bones completely.

If you find it strange to add the sardines with their bones, you could remove them, but you should know that both the bones and the organs contain a large amount of vitamins and minerals.

WATCH HOW TO MAKE THESE CUCUMBER APPETIZERS WITH SARDINE SPREAD (47 sec)

Why these cucumber appetizers are healthy

The main reason that these appetizers with sardine spread are healthy is that they are made using only natural ingredients. In addition, each of the ingredients has its good properties.

Sardines
Vitamins and minerals:
Eating the sardines entirely, with their organs and bones, means eating a large number and variety of vitamins and minerals; such as calcium, vitamin D (1), B vitamins and, in addition, omega-3 fatty acids, which are also beneficial for our health.

Protein with low mercury content:
You may know that nowadays many of the large fishes contain an amount of mercury that can be harmful to human health. Sardines, however, since they are at the beginning of the food chain of the ocean, are among the most recommended fish for human consumption.

Brain food:
In this study has been shown that “moderate seafood consumption was correlated with lesser Alzheimer disease neuropathology.
This other study says that “Fish consumption may be associated with slower cognitive decline with age.” and this one suggest that eating fish during our entire life is a prevention strategy for late-life brain health.

Mustard
If you search the internet you will see that it has many beneficial properties, but the most important is that it’s a natural ingredient that you can use in your kitchen to provide a different flavor to your recipes.

You can consume it as a spice in grains or buy it made in cream. In this case, make sure it’s made only with natural ingredients. In my case, I didn’t use to have mustard in my fridge, but using it in a pâté or in a salad dressing was a simple way to add it to my diet.

As far as the carrot, cucumber, and garlic are concerned, I guess we don’t need to explain why they are healthy, right?

The only thing that should be known, in this case, is that the vitamin B contained in the carrot is fat-soluble, which means that it must be ingested with some fat so that our body can assimilate it.

In this recipe, we will have some of the oil from the sardines’ can plus the good fat that sardines have naturally.

Cucumber appetizers with sardine spread and an olive on top

When to prepare these cucumber appetizers with sardine spread

When you discover how versatile they are and how easy they are to prepare, you will not miss any opportunity to prepare them.

They are a great idea for a refreshing snack for the summer and an excuse to eat a good protein, accompanied by vegetables and healthy fat.

If you have guests, you can prepare the sardine spread in advance and assemble the snacks in a few minutes just before your guests arrive.

It’s even very easy to take to a friend’s house. You simply take the spread in a container, a cucumber and a pot of olives. Once you arrive at your friend’s place, you can impress them by showing how easy this recipe is and how cute it looks.

I often prepare only the sardine spread and eat it in my balanced dish together with my baked veggies.

How to store these cucumber appetizers with sardine spread

I advise you not to store the appetizers already made because the cucumber will soften. The best thing is to keep the spread in a container and, a little while before serving them, cut the cucumber, add the pâté, add the olive and voilà!

When I prepare only the sardine spread, I usually store it in an airtight glass jar and keep it in the fridge, where it will last for up to 5 days, which is when I would have already finished it.

Cucumber appetizers with sardine spread and an olive on top

Different flavors and other ingredients for these appetizers

For me, it’s easier to use sardines in a tin, but if you prefer, you can buy them fresh and cook them yourself. Of course, I always make sure to buy them organic.

It is very likely that sardines can be substituted by mackerel or other fish. I have not tried other variants yet, but please keep me updated if you are going to experiment.

The carrot is not essential for this recipe, but it adds a crispy touch, and also, more vegetables are always welcome, right!?

If you don’t like the crunchiness you can boil the carrots before adding them. It will give a smoother texture to the pate.

Instead of the cucumber, you could use zucchini, tomato, or even pepper. If you prefer, you can also use bread or some toast, but we know that in terms of being healthy, nothing beats vegetables.

The olive could be substituted with a pickled onion or capers.

And, speaking of capers, I once made a version of the pâté, adding two tablespoons of capers and it was spectacular.

We already know that de gustibus non est disputandum that, in English, is translated as “In matters of taste, there can be no disputes”. So I encourage you to experiment in the kitchen with the ingredients and flavors you prefer.

More delicious healthy spreads

I hope that you will decide to try this recipe and if you’d like to try some other pâtés or spreads, I recommend this

Mojo Picón

Mojo Picón or Red Bell Pepper Spread

Beetroot Hummus

Beetroot And Chickpea Hummus served with raw veggies

Caper Hummus

Caper hummus with carrots

As always, thank you very much for stopping by.

A big hug,

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Cucumber Appetizers with Sardine Spread

Cucumber appetizers with sardine spread and an olive on top

These cucumber appetizers with sardine spread are very easy to prepare, are gluten-free and dairy-free and absolutely healthy. They are ideal for an aperitif or as a savory snack, so why is this recipe not on your Healthy Meal Plan or Batch Cooking yet? 

  • Author: Claudia Canu
  • Prep Time: 15 min
  • Total Time: 15 min
  • Yield: 20 1x
  • Category: Snack
  • Method: No cooking
  • Cuisine: Healthy
Scale

Ingredients

120 grams of sardines*

1 clove of garlic

1 medium carrot**

1 teaspoon mustard

Few drops of lemon

⅛ teaspoon of salt

⅛ teaspoon of pepper

1 cucumber

Instructions

SPREAD:

Add all of the ingredients in a food processor and process for a few minutes until a spread has formed. 

APPETIZER

  1. Cut the cucumber into slices.
  2. Add a tablespoon of pâté on top of each slice.
  3. Decorate with half or one olive.

Notes

* If you use canned sardines, I advise you to throw away almost all of the oil so that the pâté remains rather dense. Or you could try a version leaving all of the oil and then tell me how it turned out 😉

**You can boil the carrot for a smoother texture.

Keywords: gluten-free, dairy-free, sardines, paleo, cucumber, appetizer, spread, pate

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2 responses to “Cucumber Appetizers With Sardine Spread”

  1. Cintia says:

    This is a great way to eat sardines and also more veggies. I’ll try this recipe as an entree for my next dinner with the family. Thank you!

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