Ham sandwiches are widely served for afternoon tea throughout Scotland. Our version, which was inspired by a similar item our staff tasted at the Scottish Tea House, gets delightful spice from made-from-scratch piccalilli and added texture from fresh cucumber. Pictured with our Scotch Eggs and Lamb Bridies.
Ham & Piccalilli Tea Sandwiches
Makes 18
Ingredients
- ¾ cup Piccalilli (recipe follows), finely chopped
- 12 slices whole wheat bread, divided
- 6 slices ham
- 1 English cucumber, thinly sliced,
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
Instructions
- Spread an even layer of Piccalilli onto 6 bread slices, leaving a ½-inch border of bread. Top each with 1 ham slice and 4 to 5 cucumber slices. Spread a thin layer of mayonnaise onto remaining 6 bread slices. Place mayonnaise side down on top of cucumber layers to make 6 whole sandwiches.
- Using a serrated bread knife in a gentle sawing motion, trim and discard crusts (½-inch border of bread) from sandwiches. Cut each sandwich into 3 equal rectangles. Serve immediately, or cover with damp paper towels, place in a covered container, and refrigerate for a few hours until serving time.
Piccalilli
Makes approximately 1¼ cups
Ingredients
- ½ cup finely chopped fresh cauliflower
- ½ cup finely chopped gherkin pickle (approximately 3 pickles)
- ½ cup finely chopped shallot (approximately 2 small shallots)
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon fine sea salt, divided
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons ground mustard
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- ¼ teaspoon cumin seeds
- ¼ teaspoon ground coriander
- ¾ cups white vinegar, divided
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
Instructions
- In a medium colander, combine cauliflower, pickle, and shallot. Add 1 tablespoon salt, stirring to coat vegetables. Let stand and drain for at least 4 hours, or cover and let stand overnight.
- Using cold water, rinse salt from vegetables; let drain.
- In a small bowl, stir together cornstarch, mustard, turmeric, cumin, coriander, and remaining 1 teaspoon salt. Stir in ¼ cup vinegar.
- In a small saucepan, stir together sugar and remaining ½ cup vinegar over medium heat. Cook, stirring often, until sugar dissolves. Stir in cornstarch mixture. Increase heat to medium-high and cook, stirring often, until mixture thickens, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in drained vegetables. Cook for 1 minute, then remove from heat. Pour mixture into a pint glass jar with lid. Refrigerate and use within a week.
