Ground Meat Skewers with Braised Cucumbers

Ingredients

• 800 g braised cucumber
• 1 Shallot
• 1 EL Butter
• 250 ml vegetable broth
• Salt
• Pepper (freshly ground)
• 100 g cream cheese
• 1 TL sharp mustard
• Lemon juice
• 1 day‑old roll
• 3 EL whipping cream
• 600 g mixed ground meat
• 1 egg
• 1 EL freshly chopped parsley
• 1 pinch lemon zest
• Salt
• Pepper (freshly ground)
• oil for frying
• chopped dill for garnish

Instructions

1. 1.

   Peel the cucumbers, cut them lengthwise in half and scoop out the seeds with a spoon. Cut the flesh into pieces. Peel and finely chop the shallot; sauté it in hot butter until translucent. Add the cucumber pieces and deglaze with vegetable broth. Season with salt and pepper and simmer gently for 15–20 minutes, adding more broth if needed.

2. 2.

   Soak the roll in water. In a bowl combine the ground meat, egg, parsley, squeezed roll, and lemon zest; season with salt and pepper and knead well. Shape around skewers into sausage‑like logs. Fry in hot oil in a non‑stick pan, turning, for 5–6 minutes until golden brown.

3. 3.

   Lift the cucumbers from the broth with a slotted spoon and arrange on plates. Reduce the broth further if desired. Stir in cream cheese and mustard, then season with lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Plate the skewers with the vegetables and sprinkle dill before serving.