Herbed Cucumber Slices ( Healthy Starter Recipe ) with step by step photos
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For the roasted bell pepper-
For the herbed cucumber, we will first roast the bell pepper for garnishing. To begin making that, apply ¼ tsp of oil evenly over the red capsicum.
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Pierce it with a fork so that it cooks evenly
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Place the capsicum on an open flame and roast it on a medium flame
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Roast till it turns black in colour from all sides. You can even roast the bell pepper in an oven by placing them on a greased baking tray. Roast them for 20 minutes at 200’C, rotate and roast them for another 20 minutes
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Immerse it in water. You can also do this under running tap water. Another alternative is to place the bell pepper in a food grade plastic bag or place the roasted peppers on a cutting board, then invert a large bowl over the top of them. The bag/bowl traps the steam inside that will help in peeling them easily.
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Remove the skin.
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Place it on a chopping board and remove the stem and seeds. Discard it.
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Cut the roasted bell pepper into thin strips. Keep aside for the garnish.
For the hummus-
To make the Lebanaese hummus, wash the kabuli chana very well
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Submerge 1/2 cups of dried chickpeas in enough water
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Cover them with a lid and soak them overnight
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After soaking, the chickpeas will look like this
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Drain them and remove excess water
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Put the soaked and drained chickpeas in a pressure cooker
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Add enough water
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Pressure cook for 4 whistles or until the chickpeas are soft
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Allow the steam to escape before opening the lid. This is called the natural release method and is done by removing the pressure cooker from the hot burner and let the pressure drop by cooling down naturally.
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Drain if required and in a mixer jar, take the cooked chickpeas
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Add crushed garlic. If you are Jain, then avoid adding garlic
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Add freshly ground black peppercorns
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Add olive oil. Use best quality olive oil for maximum flavour
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Add thyme for an added flavour
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Add lemon juice
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Add salt to taste
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Add a little water that will help in grinding. The authentic recipe makes use of curd and tahini hence, it does not require water. You can make use of low-fat curd if you like
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Blend in a mixer till smooth. Our lebanese hummus is ready
How to make Herbed Cucumber-
To make the healthy herbed cucumber, place a washed cucumber on a chopping board. If possible, make use of English cucumber which has less seeds. Also, for a fancier stripped look, you can lightly peel the cucumber. Before assembling also taste one slice. If it is bitter, discard and start with another cucumber
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Cut them into slightly thick slices without peeling
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Arrange the cucumber slices on a flat dry surface
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Top each cucumber slice with little topping mixture that is our hummus. If you have a decorating pastry bag and nozzle, make use of it to pipe the hummus elegantly over the cucumber slices.
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Garnish the cucumber bites with red capsicum strips
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Also, garnish the herbed cucumber bites with parsley sprigs. If you don’t find them then make use of mint leaves, garlic chives or finely chopped spring onion greens for garnishing
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Serve the herbed cucumber slices immediately
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Cucumber Snack, Cottage Cheese and Cucumber Sandwich, Cucumber and Sesame Seeds Salad are some other healthy recipes made using cucumber.