Category: Cucumbers

There are many versions of this classic Spanish soup, served cold or at room temperature (when it was first made, before refrigeration) and most include tomatoes, cucumbers, onion, garlic, stale bread, a bit of sweet pepper and olive oil and wine vinegar. You can play with the ratio based on what you have and/or your tastes.  ... Read more »

It's hard not to be effusive about this salad. The smokiness of the frikeh (roasted/scorched green wheat--a Middle Eastern specialty) paired with the cold crunch of the cucumber and the lemony dressing and plenty of fresh herbs is just plain a winner. Cookbook author and friend Ellen Jackson gave me the cracked, toasted coriander idea which rounds the dish out perfectly.   The salad would certainly be good with faro, wheat berries or even barley so give it a try even if you don't have frikeh. If you are using a different grain add 1/2 teaspoon of smoked paprika (pimenton) to the dressing.   While I typically use cilantro, mint, basil, parsley and oregano and even dill would all be good and you can try combinations of herbs as well. You can also vary the vegetables to use what you have on hand. And this salad is just as good (or better) the next day.  ... Read more »

Raita is a cool yogurt and cucumber dish that’s used as a dip, topping, or sauce in Middle Eastern and Indian foods. It’s versatile, delicious and easy to make. ... Read more »

  --inspired by two different recipes from 101cookbooks.com   Serves 4   This slightly unusual combination of ingredients and flavors is crunchy, cool, sweet/tart and rather addictive.... Read more »

Easy, crunchy, sweet and sour and delicious and a good way to experiment with pickles with a smallish batch--with the amount of pickling cucumbers you might get in your CSA at the height of pickling cuke season.... Read more »

A lovely salad to make with the first of the season’s sweet corn--which isn't cooked for this dish.  Use diced sweet red pepper instead of cooked, green beans (as in the photo) or omit them and just use corn, cucumbers and onions.  ... Read more »

--adapted from Pure Beef by Lynne Curry   This recipe is from a wonderful cookbook by Lynne Sampson Curry of Joseph, OR. This salad is perfect alongside a good hamburger or some thinly sliced flank steak or meatloaf (as Lynne does). ... Read more »

--adapted from Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi   This may seem like a cool-weather dish but I make red lentil curries in the summer and we eat them barely warm with a generous dollop of cool cucumber yogurt topping. The ingredient list looks long but I’ve noted where you can simplify and it does come together pretty easily. It is a bit similar to this red lentil dhal, though this one does not have coconut milk and is a bit thicker. ... Read more »

A friend shared this recipe and it is a perfect summer dish when cucumbers are prolific. It's a nice one-dish meal with minimal fuss.   It serves quite a few so halve the recipe if you’d like. I like to make it with cucumbers and green beans but carrots cut into matchsticks or thin half rounds, briefly cooked, would make a great substitute if that's what you have. ... Read more »

There are many variations of this dish in Germany and I grew up with this simple, sweet and sour vegetarian one. Often ground beef or small meat balls are added to the mix and sometimes also tomato. I don’t know of any cooked cucumber dishes in the States but having grown up with this one in Germany it doesn’t seem odd to me and is well worth a try. The quantities are squishy for this recipe, confirmed by my mother. Just scale up or down to taste and depending on what you have. ... Read more »

This is the classic Tuscan bread salad made at the height of tomato season. Tuscan bread goes stale very quickly so there are lots of recipes to use it up in flavorful ways. The success of the dish depends on using really flavorful, ripe tomatoes and a good olive oil. And you can use fresher bread if you don’t have stale—see directions below.   Panzanella in the United States often employs toasted chunks of bread more like croutons, tossed with tomatoes, etc. Give this version a try. The texture is completely different and so delicious.... Read more »

My mother makes great big platters of this, completely simple composed salad every summer. If you have sweet peppers by all means slice them very thinly and add them to the mix here. You can scale this however you'd like so adjust however you'd like. You can skip the feta to make it vegan. ... Read more »

You can use the gorgeous purple Torpedo (or Tropea) onions instead of Walla Walla Sweets if that's what you have. You can easily halve this salad or substitute herbs you have/like.... Read more »

--inspired by Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi   This salad is fresh, and strongly flavored from the garlic and ginger. It needs a little marinating time so start the dressing right away if you have other things to prepare.   If you don’t have a mortar and pestle chop the garlic and ginger as finely as you can and then mash them a bit with some salt on your cutting board with the side of a chef’s knife. ... Read more »

  This cool, creamy Greek side/spread/dip is good with most anything. Scoop it on toasted bread, add it to pita or regular sandwiches. Top boiled potatoes with it or thinly sliced broiled beef or dollop it on toasted baguettes (sliced the length of the loaf) after you've rubbed the bread with garlic and layered with tomatoes and sprinkled with salt.   You can invert the ratio of cucumber to yogurt or change it in any way you want just taste and be sure it has plenty of garlic, salt and acidity. And if you don't have dill use cilantro, basil, parsley, oregano--not authentic but all delicious!... Read more »

Cucumbers and dill are a classic combination. And if you have some smoked salmon, or salmon of any kind, this is the perfect side.   For the quickest preparation of salmon pan-fry salmon fillets seasoned with nothing but salt and pepper, skin side down in a hot cast iron pan or other heavy skillet in just the a little oil. Flip and finish on the other side. This will only take 4-5 minutes on the first side and another 2 or 3 on the other, but will depend on the thickness of the fillet. ... Read more »

This is a robust and bright room temperature dish that is begging for seasonal adaptations.  ... Read more »

Juicy, summery, good for snacks, pickles, cocktails as well as salads and even delicious braised, cucumbers are versatile. Indian raita and Greek tzatziki are two of my favorite things to make with cucumbers, both using plain yogurt.   Pickling cucumbers have quite a rough skin but you never peel them. A good scrub will remove the rough bits. Pickling cukes especially can be bitter, though often it's only the ends that are so ditch those before you toss the whole thing. Bitter cukes can ruin a batch of pickles so taste the ends as you're preparing them.   Some recipes also call for removing the seeds of slicing cucumbers to eliminate some of the moisture in the dish. This is easy to do with a teaspoon. With lemon cucumbers the juicy, seedy part is the point so don't try seeding lemon cucumbers.... Read more »