raw-licious monkey sandwiches

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Laura Jane is The Rawtarian

This recipe was born out of jealousy. My husband was traveling without me a couple years ago, and went to a raw cafe while I was stuck at home eating carrot sticks. (No fair!)

After visiting the cafe, I poutily asked him what looked good on the cafe menu. He told me about these “sandwiches” (hollowed out cucumbers stuffed with nut pate and veggies) that were available at the cafe, and I became very grumpy and jealous since I was on the other side of the country! But I thought, “I can make something like that!” And so I did. And then monkey sandwiches were born!

Directions

1. Cut your cucumber in half, as seen in the picture. (Not lengthwise, the other way!)

2. Hollow out most of the inside of the cucumber. (Just start carving into the end with a skinny, regular little sharp knife. Keep going down as far as you can – or until you get bored or lazy.)

3. Make your nut pate (or get your leftovers from the fridge). There are a variety to choose from. I recommend either my raw veggie cream cheese recipe or my raw egg salad recipe. Both are really tasty.

4. Start putting some nut pate inside. Try to get it all the way from top to bottom (lengthwise), but only on one side. Fill the other side with chopped veggies too. It’s a tight squeeze, but have fun with it. The idea is that you want some pate and some chopped veg in each bite.

5. That’s it! Monkey sandwiches!

The Rawtarian’s Thoughts

For me, this is a “use-up-a-nut-pate” recipe more than a “make-a-nut-pate-so-that-I-can-make-monkey-sandwiches” kind of recipe, if you get my drift! It’s still good, but more something that is a fun way to use up leftovers.

One of the BEST things about these crazy little things is that they are EXTREMELY portable. Just wrap very tightly in plastic cling wrap and you are good to go. Perfect for work lunches. They are conversation starters though – you have been warned!

In this picture I have used a “field” cucumber, which basically means the cheaper type of cucumber that is bigger than the typical “long English” cucumbers that are usually available in North America. Either type is fine, and both have benefits and drawbacks.

These keep pretty well for a day or so assembled. Nut pates (when stored on their OWN, in a container in the fridge) keep well – for 3-4 days or so.

Field cucumber: If using field cucumber you may want to peel it first, because the peel can be tough – especially when you try to bite into the whole thing sandwich-style.

Long English cucumber: These thinner cucumbers are way harder to hollow out and you can’t stuff as much into it, but it’s much easier to eat since it’s skinnier. Also, you might want to cut it into three instead of in half.

Laura Jane, The Rawtarian

Laura-Jane is The Rawtarian, a passionate raw vegan.

Visit her and get more great recipe ideas at therawtarian.com