Chili Spiced Cucumbers

I’m obsessed with parties, and any party of mine is bound to have an endless array of appetizers. In order to get the variety I want and not lose my mind making my 10th labor-intensive app, I always like to include some appetizers of the “silly easy” variety.

And these cucumbers are just that, they get a bath of lime juice, a sprinkle of chili powder and sugar, and a hit of salt, resulting in a crisp, tangy, spicy, salty treat that takes minutes to make.

So get on the phone right now and invite your friends over, before you know it you’ll be sipping rose and munching on chili spiced cucumbers. Sounds like one heck of a Monday night, am I right?!

Chili lime cucumbers

Makes 32 spears

8 Persian cucumbers, cut into 4 spears each

Juice of 2 limes

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon Aleppo chili pepper powder

1 teaspoon sugar

Smoked sea salt flakes

1. Cut cucumbers into spears and place in small shallow bowl. Pour the lime juice over the cucumbers and let sit in the refrigerator until slightly marinated – at least 15 minutes.
2. While the cucumbers are marinating, add the chili pepper and sugar in a small bowl stir until thoroughly combined.
3. Remove the cucumbers from the lime juice, shaking off any excess liquid. Lightly sprinkle the chili powder and sugar over the cucumber, repeating with remaining cucumbers. Sprinkle the sea salt flakes over each cucumber and serve immediately.

Keep it Simple:

• You can use regular cucumbers for this, just cut them into spears like you see in the picture. You will need about 3 regular sized cucumber for this recipe.
• Aleppo Chili Powder has great flavor and is sold in a coarse grind which is nice for this recipe. Any chili powder will work but if it is very strong in flavor or has a lot of heat you may want to use less on each cucumber. Sprinkle one cucumber with the chili sugar mixture and taste before doing the rest.
• Sea salt flakes and big piece of sea salt that give you a great hit of salt. I LOVE them on this recipe but a regular sprinkling of salt would work too.
• Depending on how big your cucumbers are you may have extra of the chili powder sugar mixture, if so simply store in an air tight container until next time.

You might also like these recipes:

• Brown Butter Cucumbers + Popped Amaranth
• Brie + Honey Crostini
• Veggie Bolognese
• Chard Sandwich w/ Sundried Tomato Smear
• Cauliflower Alfredo