A Toast to Rafael Nadal — The Reigning King of Clay

Age may catch-up to Rafael Nadal eventually but as it currently stands, he is still the reigning king of the clay courts at Roland Garros in Paris. Rafael Nadal and Noval Dojokovic battled it out in oppressive heat on Sunday for the men’s French Open Grand Slam title. It was clear from the beginning who was Paris’ favorite to win the title. Parisians are known as much for their set preferences as for their skinny waistlines and light-as-air madeleine cookies, and it was clear from the get-go that Nadal has been and continues to be the king of hearts for les Parisiens. By the end of the match, the French cheered as Nadal was bent over the court, exhausted, but victorious.

For me, tennis is one of those poshy sports in which etiquette and decorum always matter. Thus, I often associate the sport with bite-size, gourmet hors d’oeuvres. I mean, when you think tennis, you really don’t think barbeque, pizza, meats or any other typical sports food. And especially when it comes to the crème de la crème of tennis — the Grand Slams — only the finest things come to mind food-wise (i.e. strawberries and cream, bite-sized scones, or bubbly at Wimbledon, for instance).

In honor of the Spanish King of Clay and the fine sport he plays, I give you bite-sized cucumber sandwiches — very easy to make and super classy in presentation.

Bite-Sized Cucumber Sandwiches

Ingredients

1 small to medium-sized cucumber, thinly sliced into rounds (keep the skin on)
Freshly ground black pepper
1 ½ cups cream cheese (or stracchino cheese if you can find it)
½ small bunch dill, finely chopped
Small bunch chives, snipped or minced into itty bits
9–10 thin slices whole wheat bread (or gluten-free if you prefer), cut into squares just slightly larger than the diameter of the cucumber slices

Preparation

After you have finishing slicing the cucumbers, lay them on a paper towel and then topped with another paper towel for a couple minutes to dry them a bit.

In a food processor, combine your dill, several sprinkles of black pepper, cheese, and most of the chives.

Now, you’re going to make a club-like sandwich. First start with one piece of the bread you sliced. Spread some of the cheese mixture on it, then top with 2 cuc slices stacked atop each other. Repeat this until you have a three-layered club (three slices of bread). On the top of the top bread slices, place a tiny dollop of cheese in the center and then top with a single cucumber slice. Sprinkle with some chives.

Repeat this until you have used up all your ingredients and have several little cuc sandwiches!

Serve with a chilled glass of champagne and enjoy!