It's Cucumber Time! Ideas?

[Sony]

Hi all !

So, an office mate has generously brought in loads of cucumbers from her garden to share with us- yay! They're wonderful raw- tenderly crisp, thin-skinned, and though they're somewhat seedy , there's still plenty of flavor and appealing texture there. I could eat a whole one simply cut into ice-cold spears and sprinkled with kosher salt.

Any ideas or recipes for her bounty would be wonderful to share...I think my office mate would appreciate those as much as we appreciate her generosity! In particular, I'm personally curious about recipes that involve cooked cucumbers......

So far, my suggestions for her have been:

-Standard sweet and dill pickles (though she's not big on canning)

-Quick pickles

-Raita

-Hollowed and stuffed with smoked salmon spread or chicken, shrimp and tuna salads

Others?

[nibor]

I like them to eat them raw, sliced, in a bowl of cold white vinegar with lots of black pepper.

[mcdowell]

I'm a big fan of chilled cucumber soup, especially in the sweltering heat of Texas summer.

Recipes abound, but I like the tension that a finely chopped jalepeno adds to the mix.

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[jsmith]

Cucumber infused vodka is pretty popular. Take out the seeds first, skin is optional.

[William Higham]

In Russ Parson's How to Read A French Fry he gives a lovely cucumber salad to be served with salmon. We've long since been eating it on its own.

It's peeling and seeding the cucumber and then slicing it into batons. Then its salted, rinsed and dried. Finally it's dressed with toasted sesame oil, rice vinegar, salt, chopped coriander and dry-fried sesame seeds. Much recommended as a way to use up 2 or 3 cucumbers as part of a spread.

[weinoo]

Cacik - a cold, yogurt and cucumber soup...basically a raita, but thinned out.

[Pontormo]

Lately, I've been addicted to a salad Nigel Slater describes in Kitchen Diaries: stubby chunks of peeled, seeded cucumber & long thin quarters of spicy radishes bound by creamy feta. I like adding flecks of red onion and crumbled toasted walnuts. S & P. White wine vinegar. Olive oil. ETA: torn leaves of mint & parsley.

There's also gazpacho with sherry vinegar. Tuscan version:panzanella, though as pretty as the photo is, I recommend peeling cucumbers and slicing juicy tomatoes and letting the stuff macerate for a while to soak the bread. Capers vs. olives.

Tzatziki--along the raita and soup lines, but my favorite, especially with lamb or grilled foods and Paula Wolfert's noodle-rice pilaf. Yet another ETA: I prefer tzatziki w at least 1-3 T of peppery, strong olive oil beaten into the yogurt. No herbs.

I won't go fishing for another recipe, but Asian cucumber salads are a favorite, too, in stifflingly humid weather, especially if you've got a Benriner or such to slice the things paper-thin. When you salt the slices and squeeze once they're drained, there's little left: an ideal situation if you have massive numbers of cucumbers. There's nothing as satisfying as the crunch of this type of salad, dressed so it's salty, sweet, hot and sour!

Finally, keep in mind the relationship of cucumber to melons. Therefore, they're great in granitas and paired with cantaloupe or watermelon.

Edited August 10, 2007 by Pontormo (log)

[nonblonde007]

My fave, Tzatziki...yogurt, cucmber, garlic and mint.

Gazpacho, cool summer soup, delish.

Cucumber cooler, cukes, limes, mint, sugar & your fave spirit.

Sunomono, add small shrimp, crab or octopus.

Fish baked in cream, cucumber & lemon.

Hollowed and baked w/bacon, tomatoes and butter.

I love cukes.

[Naftal]

I like them to eat them raw, sliced, in a bowl of cold white vinegar with lots of black pepper.

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I do something similar: I put sliced raw cucumbers in a bowl with sliced onion, white vinegar and sugar

Edited August 10, 2007 by Naftal (log)

[Bueno]

Often times I want just the simple texture of a big chunk of cucumber. So I'll just cut them into thick spears and dress with salt and maybe a few dashes of Tabasco and munch away. Other times I'll just dip the spears in a mixture of fish sauce, mirin, and some dried chilis. In either case, they need to be ice cold.

[jackal10]

Any courgette recipe

Peeled, seeded, cut into batons and stir fried

In Pimms

Facepack

Lord preserve us from cucumber cups

[Hahabogus]

I like them to eat them raw, sliced, in a bowl of cold white vinegar with lots of black pepper.

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I do something similar: I put sliced raw cucumbers in a bowl with sliced onion, white vinegar and sugar

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Adding some thinly sliced Diakon and a few crush red pepper flakes adds a nice touch to the basic onion cucumber in vinegar with a touch of sugar and salt. Adds a nice crunch

[Sony]

She's SO happy! You all are great, and she sends a big "thank you" (as do I)!

Fish baked in cream, cucumber & lemon.

Nonblonde007, please tell me more! How is the cucumber prepped for this? Sliced? In batons? Under the fish, over the fish, beside the fish.... ? And for that matter, what kind of fish?

And Pontormo, the Slater suggestions sounds great for tonight since I also have some nice fresh radishes to use!

Thanks for coming up with these ideas (since my heat-slogged brain obviously isn't ). I can't believe I've blanked on so many of these (e.g. Asian and Mediterranean flavors) ! Please keep them coming!

[Octaveman]

I like them to eat them raw, sliced, in a bowl of cold white vinegar with lots of black pepper.

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I was just about to say this. My grandmother did this all the time as I grew up and I loved it. I carry on the torch quite often. Sometimes I use rice vinegar instead as it's got a mellower flavor.

[Cleo]

I like them to eat them raw, sliced, in a bowl of cold white vinegar with lots of black pepper.

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I do something similar: I put sliced raw cucumbers in a bowl with sliced onion, white vinegar and sugar

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Along these lines, I make this sweet & sour cucumbers with dill. Very easy and really tasty!

[sazji]

I will second cacık - thinned yogurt, cucumber, dill, top with a bit of olive oil, add garlic if you like. The Greeks do it (tzatziki - same word through the filter of greek phonology!) differently - strained yogurt, grated cucumber, salted and squeezed to remove extra water, then garlic, salt and olive oil, dill optional.

Another thing I really love is cucumber ginger lemonade. Take a 1 1/2 inch length of ginger, grate finely, and simmer slowly with half cup of water and half cup of sugar. While it is simmering, make lemonade with fresh lemons, take a few of the peels and knead in the lemonade to release some of the oil. Take two medium cucumbers and process in the food processer, leaving the skins on if the skins aren't bitter (they provide flavor and beautiful color). Strain into the lemonade, add the ginger syrup and as much sugar as you like.

[nibor]

At Gustav Anders, one of my favorite restaurants in Orange County CA (now unfortunately out of business) the water pitchers contained cucumber/lemon water. You could not see the cucumbers. I don’t know how they made it, but it was delicious. If you could derive the essence of fresh cucumber (puree & strain?) and freeze it, you could drink this all year.

[MattJohnson]

I just put slices in glasses of water like you would a lemon. Very refreshing.

[emilyr]

I like a salad with cucmbers, melons (whatever's ripe), mint, cilantro, chili flakes, and lime juice. ETA: Sometimes I mix this with couscous and red onions for a more substantial dish.

Also, cucumber is the veggie we use most in curries (very Americanized curries). They are just a bit sweet, and pick up a nice spice from the curry powder.

Plus, cucumber and tomato sandwiches, on a soft white bread, thinly spread with butter and mayo, sprinkled with lots of kosher salt and pepper is my idea of summer on a plate!

Edited August 10, 2007 by emilyr (log)

[Bueno]

Plus, cucumber and tomato sandwiches, on a soft white bread, thinly spread with butter and mayo, sprinkled with lots of kosher salt and pepper is my idea of summer on a plate!

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I don't like mayo, so mine go without, but YES, YES, and YES. Can't believe I forgot about this. In fact, I truly had forgotten and now I've not had that sandwich in at least a year. This shall be rectified immediately thanks to you! And I do mean thanks!

[nonblonde007]

Salmon w/ cucumber sauce

Any fish would be nice with this. Put it ina a baking dish and pre-heat to 350.

Rub butter over entire fish, in and out and if whole, stuff with lemon halves and the herb of your choice, I like rosemary. Douse liberally with lemon juice, salt & fresh pepper. Pour a cup or so of rich cream around the fish, cover with foil and bake for 10 mins. per lb. Take out and add 1 diced cucumber, lemon zest and baste the fish with the mixture in the bottom of the pan. return to oven for 10 to 15 mins. depending on size of fish, basting often. The Cucumber stays a little crunchy and realy balances the richness of Salmon. I sometimes add chopped basil and even mint afterwards. Yummy!!

[merstar]

Pierre Franey's "Salade De Concombres Et Chevre" (Cucumber and Goat Cheese Salad), is fantastic. Very simple, with just a few ingredients, yielding a full, round taste - just delicious. I also have a recipe in my files for "Chilled Cucumber and Yogurt Soup with Dill and Fresh Mint" from Patricia Wells, but I haven't tried that yet. Will PM recipes to you if you're interested.

Edited August 10, 2007 by merstar (log)

[Fat Guy]

My mother-in-law makes an excellent cucumber salad. First she makes tzatziki. Then she slices cucumbers into a bowl and dresses the sliced cucumbers with the tzatziki. It's great.

[snowangel]

Then there is my favorite. A Thai salad, often served with satay or tod man (sp?). Cukes, fairly equal amounts of vinegar and sugar (sugar dissolved), a mess of sliced bird chilis and some sliced shallots. Let them sit for a bit and oh, my. What a great condiment//salad.

[I8U8]

Google "Cucumber Dip" and you'll get a host of simple little 5 minute recipes for my favourite use for cucumbers. Use the dip with sticks of cucumber or other vegetables for a very light, healthy and refreshing snack or appertizer.