An English Sandwich?

For Shelagh.
My wife picked our first cucumber and said that she would have an English Sandwich for lunch.  Sliced cucumber on buttered bread.  Is that true, Shelagh?  Is there such a thing as a cucumber sandwich?

I'm not Shelagh, but I understand that is what the English serve at fancy events - but maybe there's more to it than cucumbers and bread.....

Reminds me of my first lunch with my mother-in-law at a very elegant restaurant.  She ordered for us.  Mine was Welsh rarebit at a very high price.  In my small town ignorance from a modest home I was afraid it had something to do with rabbits...

It was the most expensive tiny piece of toast with a smear of melted cheese that I had every seen. I left hungry.

Abe yes cucumber sandwiches are often served at the Queens garden party!
D K small portions are what you expect from a posh restaurant. Cheese on toast is what we Brits call it and I usually have a nice strong tasty cheddar as a topping!

Thanks David.  I thouight she was making a joke.  Tonight we had a mixed salad (cucumber & tomato with lots of onions).  Yum.

Peel the cucumber and slice as thinly as possible, Abe.

The perfect cucumber sandwiches
(Makes 9)

1/2 cucumber, peeled
Salt
6 thin slices of good white bread
Unsalted butter, at room temperature
White pepper

Cut the cucumber into slices as thin as you can make them, and put in a colander or sieve. Sprinkle lightly with salt (don't go overboard) and leave for 20 minutes. Taste to check you haven't oversalted them: you can rinse them at this point if so.

Lay out a few pieces of kitchen paper on the work surface, place the cucumber slices on them, and pat dry with more paper.

Lay out the bread and butter each slice generously. Arrange the cucumber on half the slices, overlapping each round, and sprinkle with ground white pepper. Top with the remaining slices.

Pressing down firmly, cut the crusts off, and then cut into neat fingers, triangles or quarters of roughly equal sizes. Serve immediately, with good tea.

Wow.  I didn't expect a recipe, but thanks.  Was it the "serve immediately with good tea" that makes it British?

Everything stops for tea.

My recipe for cucumbers.
Peel cucumber and cut in half diagonally.  Place cucumber halves on a plate and place in the refrigerator to make cool it.  While it is being cooled, butter some bread (toast optional). When cucumber is sufficiently cool you are ready to enjoy.
Sit comfortably, take cucumber half in one hand and with the other hand shake salt on the cucumber.  Take a bite of the cucumber along with a bite of bread.  Chew this delicious and refreshing combo trying to avoid lip-smacking sounds and wash down with regular hot or iced-tea.  (Beer is optional).  One can spread cottage cheese (or cheddar) on the cucumber for added enjoyment.
The same procedure can be used with Peppers (green, red or yellow).  Cut pepper in half, remove seeds and cut again in quarter slices.  Place in fridge to cool.  Spread cottage cheese on the pepper quarters, salt lightly and eat with or without bread.  Beverage of choice.

The only way I like cucumbers is as cucumber pickles.  A friend of mine had a bumper crop of zucchini and made that into great pickles.