For as long as I can remember, I've hated not been so fond of cucumbers. I remember taking a bite out of one for the first time in the mid-80's, back when every salad was teeming with cucumbers, radishes, sliced carrots and the occasional cherry tomato. I've always been game to try anything where food is concerned, so I took a big bite and immediately questioned why they'd left watermelon rind in my salad. After that I avoided them like the plague until my grandfather, a lover of all things salad, picked the cucumbers off of everyone's plate who didn't want them. Finally seeing someone enjoy cucumbers, I gave them one more go. I was older, wiser; surely my somewhat more refined, near-adult palate could find something appealing about these verdant vegetables. But one more bite was all I needed to know that I was just not meant to love cucumbers. I appreciate their refreshing nature, see the value in their crunch, and even find them quite beautiful when peeled just so. But I get nothing from their flavor and have always been lacking in inspiration when it comes to using them.
So needless to say I was less than thrilled when I got the season's first cucumbers in my CSA basket. They paled in comparison to the rest of summer's bounty, playing second fiddle to more popular produce like summer squash, beets and my beloved kale. But they were a part of my share and would undoubtedly crop up again throughout the summer, so I'd have to find a way to make peace with cucumbers one way or another. I immediately considered dumping them in a gazpacho where I could mask their flavor somewhat with tomatoes, garlic and olive oil. But that would be cheating, since I signed up for a CSA for (among other reasons, of course) the express purpose of learning how to face challenging ingredients head-on, and really make them shine. So after a few days of opening the fridge door and staring blankly inside, I decided to put some brain muscle into it and break down the advantages of cucumbers. What is the best thing about cucumbers?
What a dummy, pickles, of course! While making pickles would take some time and also mask their flavor, I remembered a recipe from one of my cookbooks for a quick pickled cucumber salad with a delicious soy sauce dressing. While I'd never made it myself, I knew that the quick pickle (letting the sliced cucumbers marinate with salt and sugar) would draw out the water and concentrate whatever flavor was in there. And the dressing sounded light, with a salty-sweet kick that I hoped would bring some kind of flavor out of the cucumber. And wouldn't you know it? It was super tasty! The cucumbers developed a lovely sweetness (albeit a subtle one) that paired really nicely with the dressing and the salt it absorbed. This salad would be a great cooling side to barbecue, maybe even a healthier replacement for coleslaw. And it's perfect for picnics if you take it nice and chilled. So even though I won't be eating cucumbers in my regular salad any time soon, this all-cucumber salad has definitely opened my mind up to new possibilities. Here's the recipe with a few tweaks from me.
Chilled Cucumber Salad
adapted from Kylie Kwong's Simple Chinese Cooking
5 small (or 3 medium) cucumbers, peeled
1 Tbsp white sugar
1 tsp sea salt
pinch ground black pepper
2 Tbsp light soy sauce
2 garlic cloves, finely sliced
1/4 Tbsp finely diced ginger
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1. Cut cucumbers in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds using a spoon (skip if yours are young or seedless). Place cut side down on a chopping board and cut on the diagonal into 3/4 inch pieces. Place cucumber in a bowl, sprinkle with sugar and salt, then mix well. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
2. Whisk together the last four ingredients in a small bowl and set aside
3. Drain the cucumbers and, using your hands, gently squeeze away any excess liquid (discarding extra liquid). Combine the cucumber in a serving bowl with the dressing. Sprinkle with pepper and serve immediately.
As I mentioned in a previous post, there was once a time when I feared all purple foods. But no worries, I have gotten over my phobia to such a degree that I now often seek out and buy purple food just for the novelty of it all. It's great to finally be able to add another dimension of color, flavor and texture to my dishes with these poor misunderstood ingredients. Who knew that the pickled beets of the 80's and the ghastly purple potato soup of the 90's could have such an effect on an impressionable young girl?
Never mind the past, because I've made progress. No longer do I run screaming from deep purple fruits and veggies, or cry at the sight of borscht. In fact, just the other day I was intrigued by a mysterious row of brown paper bags at the small farmers market in the lobby of my office building. Only the plum colored pointed ends of their contents were visible, but there was something alluring about about their darkness amidst the shadows of the bag. A better look inside revealed what appeared to be purple string beans. A mere few months ago, I would have passed out then cried under my desk for an hour, but on this day I was so jazzed at the sight of something new and fun that I bought them immediately.
Some quick research on these unusual little guys proved that they are in fact quite common, can grow pretty much everywhere, and that they're actually not all that unusual. I was happy to learn ahead of time that they actually lose their dark pigment while cooking, so if you want them to be purple you have to eat them raw (they're green on the inside though, which is really pretty). That was no problem for me since I love raw snap peas as a snack, and have been known to down half a bag of green beans before they're even cooked. I decided to compromise for the salad I was making and blanched half of them and left the other half raw. Besides the color contrast there was also a great mouthfeel to the contrasting textures and flavors. I still had a few mini-heirloom tomatoes so I sliced those up and made a citrus-green olive dressing to pour over the salad. The dish was delicious and super refreshing on a crazy hot evening. So if you have a weird food phobia, get over it! You never know what you might be missing.
Purple String Bean Salad with Citrus-Olive Vinaigrette
2 cups purple string beans
2-3 miniature heirloom tomatoes (or 1 large), cut into wedges
juice of 1 lemon
2 Tbsp fresh orange juice
1 tsp lemon zest
1/2 tsp orange zest
1/4 cup roughly chopped pimiento stuffed green olives
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
extra virgin olive oil (1/4 - 1/2 a cup)
pinch of salt
pepper
1. Blanche half of the string beans in boiling salted water until tender-crisp. Remove to a bowl filled with ice water to stop the cooking.
2. Meanwhile, combine lemon juice, orange juice, lemon zest, orange zest, olives, mustard, salt and pepper in a bowl. Slowly whisk in olive oil until vinaigrette forms.
3. Toss cooked beans, raw beans and tomatoes in a bowl with half of the vinaigrette. Plate and drizzle with the remaining vinaigrette. Enjoy!
-Laura
