This sandwich is quick and easy to make and looks lovely on the plate. Gluten-free bread, rice crackers, or even cucumber wedges can replace the white bread, if desired. “It’s the perfect combination of the classic dill tea sandwich with a fresh lemon twist,” Mary Alice Higbie says. She recommends pairing with the St. James’s Margaret’s Hope Darjeeling traditional black tea or Charleston Green tea.
1 stick (½ cup) butter, softened
½ teaspoon dried dill
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon onion powder
⅛ teaspoon all-purpose seasoning
Pinch of black pepper
Zest of one lemon
1 large cucumber
Sliced white bread, frozen
1 lemon
Sea salt
Makes 8–10 open-faced sandwiches
- Combine butter with the dill, salt, spices, pepper, and lemon zest in a bowl, mixing well. Set aside.
- Slice your cucumber into thin 1/8-inch rounds. Slice a few very thin slices of lemon; take out any seeds and cut into very tiny wedges.
- To assemble, spread a nice layer of dill butter on a slice of frozen bread (using frozen bread keeps the sandwiches from getting messy). Using a flower-shaped cookie cutter, cut out the sandwich. When assembling, you don’t have to cover the slice of bread completely with dill butter, because there will be a lot of excess after stamping out the flower shape.
- Place a cucumber slice and a tiny lemon wedge on top of the sandwich.
- Keep sandwiches in a sealed container in the refrigerator until ready to serve. (Make sure they are completely defrosted.)
- Right before serving, lightly sprinkle sea salt on the tops of the sandwiches.
Read more: This recipe originally appeared in "Tea Cozy" by Chef Johnny Vee.