Cucumbers

Leni

New member
Not only am I overwhelmed with tomatoes but now it's cucumbers. Two days ago I picked 6 of them Today it was another 9. Salads of course and tzatziki. Maybe cucumber soup. Other ideas please. All of this from just two plants.
 

ChowderMan

Pizza Chef
Super Site Supporter
German style cucumber salad

peel, slice thin (mandolin very helpful)
cover, very lightly salt, refrigerate, allow to stand overnight in a strainer to drain
thin slice onions; about 1/3 by volume

dessing - oil, vinegar, bit of salt/pepper/celery seed

notes:
if they entire batch will be consumed "same day" you can skip the overnight draining.
the light salt&drain keeps them crisp over 3-4 days in the fridge.

"flavor" of oil and vinegar affects . . .
 

joec

New member
Gold Site Supporter
Here are 4 that I've tried and liked.

CUCUMBER KIM CHEE

2 Japanese cucumbers (I use regular cucumbers)
Table salt or finely ground sea salt
1 teaspoon coarse-ground Korean red pepper
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon peeled minced ginger
2 tablespoons (or more, as desired) minced green onion

Wash unpeeled cucumber, cut off ends and cut into chunks. In a nonreactive bowl, layer the chunks with a light sprinkling of salt between each layer. Toss and stir to distribute salt. Allow to sit for 20 minutes, then rinse off a piece and taste. If too salty, wash cucumber in cold water and proceed. If not salty enough, allow to marinate longer. When the flavor is right, drain and rinse in cold water.

In a bowl, stir together Korean red pepper, sugar, garlic, ginger and green onion. Add cucumber, toss well and pack into sterilized jars. Refrigerate; this is ready to eat the same day. Keeps about 2 weeks, refrigerated.

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Granny's Cucumber Salad

2 medium Cucumbers, thinly sliced
1 small white onion, thinly sliced
1 cup white vinegar (I prefer Cider Vinegar but others will also work)
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup white sugar (depending on vinegar used)
1 tablespoon dried dill, or to taste

DIRECTIONS:
Combine cucumbers and onion in a large bowl. Add the vinegar, water and sugar to a saucepan and cook over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, and pour over the cucumber and onions. Stir in dill, cover, and chill at least 1 hour.

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Thai Style Cucumber Salad

2 Tbsp. rice vinegar
2 Tbsp. fresh squeezed lime juice
2 - 3 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. Asian style hot chili sauce
1/4 tsp. salt; or to taste
4 cups English cucumber; thinly sliced ( 1 small to medium)
1/2 cup red onion; finely chopped
1/4 cup fresh cilantro; chopped

Combine the rice vinegar, lime juice, sugar, chili sauce and salt in a bowl and whisk to combine. Add the cucumber, onion and cilantro and toss to combine. Allow to marinate for 10 minutes, then toss again before serving.

Serves 4.

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Cucumber/Radish salsa

Ingredients

2 cucumbers, peeled, seeded, and chopped
1 (6-ounce) package radishes, grated
1 small onion, minced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup lime juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
Garnish: whole radish

Preparation
Stir together first 7 ingredients. Cover and chill, if desired. Garnish, if desired
 

Cooksie

Well-known member
Site Supporter
Seed, peel, and stuff the cucumbers with shrimp salad, chicken salad, or tuna salad.
 

Miniman

Mini man - maxi food
Gold Site Supporter
One of the families in the church where I went to university grew cucumbers commercially. Their favourite dish was sliced cucumbers in vinegar.

Another recipe using cucumbers is Old English Summer Soup
[FONT=&quot]Ingredients[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]350 g potatoes peeled and finely diced
4 or 5 spring onions
1 small, round lettuce
½ medium cucumber
75 g butter
850 ml chicken or vegetable stock (fresh or using stock cubes)
salt and freshly milled black pepper[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]At Home[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Snipped fresh chives, to garnish

[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] Method[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]1. [/FONT][FONT=&quot]Peel & finely dice the potatoes, finely chop the whole spring onions and cucumber. Wash, dry & shred the lettuce.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]2. [/FONT][FONT=&quot]Melt the butter gently.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]3. [/FONT][FONT=&quot]Add the potatoes, spring onions, lettuce and cucumber. Stir everything round in the butter then, keeping the heat very low, put a lid on and let everything sweat for 10 minutes. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]4. [/FONT][FONT=&quot]Now pour in the stock, stir, add some salt and freshly milled black pepper and bring to the boil. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]5. [/FONT][FONT=&quot]Then reduce the heat to low, put the lid on and let it simmer gently for another 20 minutes. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]6. [/FONT][FONT=&quot]Leave the soup to cool a little, then puree the whole lot in a blender. If you need to do this in two batches, it is helpful to have a bowl to hand to put the first batch in. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]7. [/FONT][FONT=&quot]Check the seasoning, [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]8. [/FONT][FONT=&quot]Serve with the freshly snipped chives stirred in at the last moment or sprinkle a few into each bowl. The soup can also be served chilled.[/FONT]
 

joec

New member
Gold Site Supporter
Here are a few more with the sources listed including Buzz's wife. Again all are excellent.

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Cold Summer Soup Recipe - Tyler Florence

4 hothouse cucumbers, peeled and cut in medium dice
2 green onions, chopped
1/2 honeydew melon, peeled and cut into medium dice
1 serrano chile, chopped fine
1 rib celery, chopped fine
1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
Leaves from 2 sprigs fresh mint leaves, chopped
Leaves from 1/2 bunch fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
Extra-virgin olive oil
Salt
2 tablespoons low-fat yogurt
1 lemon
1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Combine the cucumbers, green onions, melon, chile, celery, vinegar, herbs, a drizzle of olive oil, and salt in a large bowl (the cucumbers will give off a lot of juice). Put the bowl in a large pot of ice water to chill for 30 minutes. In another bowl, combine the yogurt, a 2-count of olive oil, a squeeze of lemon, the parsley, and refrigerate. To serve, spoon the soup into bowls.

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Fran's Gazpacho - Buzz's wife

1 jalapeno pepper - seeded
1 cucumber - peeled and seeded
1 cup celery
1/2 cup green onions

finely dice all of the above

3 Lg tomatoes - peeled, seeded, and chopped
2 ripe avocados - peeled, seeded, and chopped
4 cups tomato juice
5 T red wine vinegar
4 T EVOO
2 t salt
1/2 t freshly ground pepper
6 drops Red Tabasco Sauce
6 drops Green Tabasco Sauce

Sour Cream and/or herbed croutons for garnish


Combine and refrigerate all except Sour Cream overnight to blend
Add more red & green Tabasco sauce to taste
Top with garnish

Serve in chilled bowels

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Creole Spiced Seafood Gazpacho - Emeril

2 1/2 pounds Creole tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
2 red peppers, roughly chopped
2 medium yellow onions, roughly chopped
2 cucumbers, peeled and roughly chopped
4 stalks celery, roughly chopped
1/4 cup minced shallots
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons grated fresh horseradish
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
2 cups vegetable juice (recommended: V-8)
1/2 cup to 1 cup pepper-flavored vodka (recommended: Absolut Peppar Vodka)
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
4 lemons, juiced
Dash liquid crab boil
Pinch cayenne pepper
Salt and black pepper
1/4 cup brunoise carrots
1/4 cup brunoise parsnips
1/4 cup brunoise red onions
1/4 cup brunoise red peppers
1/4 cup brunoise celery
1/4 cup brunoise cucumbers
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh herbs, (such as basil, chervil, tarragon, etc.)
1 pound medium shrimp, peeled, tail-discarded, and cooked
1 pound lump crabmeat, picked for cartilage
1 pound lobster meat, cooked and diced
1 cup fresh herb salad
1 part Sherry Vinegar to 2 parts of olive oil (or other vinegar for vinaigrette dressing)

In a food processor with a metal blade, combine the chopped vegetables, shallots, garlic, horseradish and cilantro. Puree the mixture until slightly smooth. Add the vegetable juice, vodka, Worcestershire sauce, juice from 2 lemons and the liquid crab boil. Puree until the mixture is smooth. Season with cayenne, salt and pepper. Remove the mixture from the food processor and refrigerate for 6 hours, so the flavors can marry.

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add the vegetables and blanch for 1 minute. Remove and shock the vegetables in a bowl of ice water. Remove the vegetables and pat dry.

In a mixing bowl, whisk the extra-virgin olive oil and remaining lemon juice together. Add the herbs and whisk well. Season with salt and pepper. In a mixing bowl, toss the brunoise vegetables with 1/4 cup of the vinaigrette and season with salt and pepper. Toss each of the seafood with the remaining vinaigrette. Season with salt and pepper.

To assemble, place a pile of each seafood in the bowls. Ladle the gazpacho into each bowl. Spoon the vegetable relish in the center of each bowl. Garnish with the herb salad.

Yield: 6 to 8 servings

Prep Time: 40 minutes
Cook Time: 1 minute
Inactive Prep Time: 6 hours


I guess you can tell cucumbers are one of my favorite vegetables.
 
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