Sunday, September 13, 2009

Mock Tuna Stuffed Cucumbers


Most people have an abundance of zucchini in late summer but I’ve had cucumbers.  Lots and lots of cucumbers.  I’ve had to get creative and invent some new ways to eat them, so for lunch I made stuffed cucumbers.  I stuffed them with a raw mock tuna made from sprouted sunflower seeds.  They came out looking like sushi so I sprinkled them with soy sauce and ate them with chopsticks.  
Mock tuna is a really tasty, healthy alternative to canned tuna.  I used to eat a lot of canned tuna but then I became very concerned about the amount of mercury I was eating and gave in up.  Mock tuna is also delicious on crackers or toast.

You start by soaking the sunflower seeds in water for about 6 hours and then drain and rinse them.  You can see the little end start to sprout.  Soaking the sunflower seeds does two things, it makes them softer and closer to a tuna consistency but more importantly, it increases their nutritional value and digestibility. 












Peel the cucumber, cut it in half and trim off the ends.  Then, using a small paring knife, cut the seeds out and stuff them with the mock tuna.  Make sure you stuff it tightly.  Once the cucumber is stuffed, roll it in a mixture of black and white sesame seeds.  I couldn’t find black sesame so I bought a black sesame gomasio.  Gomasio is a seasoning made of sesame seeds and salt.  It’s a good substitute.
I tried cutting them on a diagonal and straight...you can go either way.  


Mock Tuna
Stuffs two cucumbers - use organic ingredients whenever possible

1 cup shelled sunflower seeds, soaked for 6 hours drained and rinsed
1 rib celery, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon garlic, finely chopped
1 green onion, greens only,finely chopped
1 tablespoon parsley, finely chopped
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon soy sauce (unpasteurized is best)
1/2 teaspoon dill weed
1/2 teaspoon dulse flakes
Black and white sesame seeds.
Pulse the drained sunflower seeds in a food processor about 5 times.  Scrape down the sides and pulse another 5 times.
Put the processed sunflower seeds in a bowl and mix in the rest of the ingredients.
Peel two cucumbers, cut off the ends and cut them in half and cut out the seeds.
Stuff them with the mock tuna.
Roll them in the sesame seeds and cut in desired thickness.

2 comments:

  1. Just a wee correction, if you don't mind...
    it would be Mock Tuna as in pretend tuna, not mocked tuna which would mean you used real tuna which had been teased and embarassed.
    LOL

    A beautiful recipie, which I shall surely try!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks for catching my typo, I did get it right below, just not the title.

    ReplyDelete