Cucumber Salads

INGREDIENTS

• Cucumber
• Other ingredients vary between recipes

HINTS

• Use a mandolin to get nearly paper thin slices of cucumber
• When thin the green skin is very edible, and gives a nice crunch
• If you don’t like the skin, use a zester to artfully remove much of the skin
• You can get a fancy crinkle cutter or lemon zester at Amazon. I use mine often for many other dishes

Grandma’s Cucumber Salad

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Grandma’s Cucumber Salad

 

Sunomono Salad – Spicy Cucumber Salad

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Sunomono Salad

Cucumber and Krab Salad

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Cucumber and Krab Salad

Cucumber and Tomato Salad

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Cucumber and Tomato Salad

Great Grandma Andrews’ Cucumber and Onions

This is the recipe that my mother made for me when I was young. She used to make me my own jar from which I could snack any time of the day or night.

• 1 medium to large cucumber – English cucumber if available
  – Peel using a julienne stripper or potato peeler – Leave some of the green
  – Halve the cucumber and use the edge of a spoon to deseed
  – Cut into spears, then into 1/2 inch chunks. To make it pretty, you can use a crinkle cutter
• 1 large sweet onion – Halved and slivered and soaked in ice water for 5 minutes
• Toss cucumber and onion with 2 tsp salt
• Let rest in a plated colander for 30-60 minutes – Liquid will drain from veggies

Great Grandma’s Marinate

• Combine
  – 1/2 C Apple Cider Vinegar
  – 1 TBL sugar or honey
  – 1 tsp salt
  – 1/2 C boiling hot water
• Pour hot liquid over top of the cukes
• Top, if necessary, with water so that liquid completely covers mixture.
  GRANDPA’S MEDITERRANEAN TWIST
• Add 1/2 tsp Grandpa's Thunder Powder or Arghhh Powder, 1/3 C sour cream, 1/4 C chopped mint
• Toss together and plate as an appetizer topped with a mint leaf

Small Dressed Cucumber

This is similar to the above recipe, made by my mother, but this one was from The Church Ladies at Phoenix First Church

• Score your cucumber before slicing thin
• Half of a small sweet onion – sliced thin
• 1/4 C cider vinegar
• 1 TBL honey
• 2 TBL chopped parsley
• 1/2 chopped green pepper
• 1/2 tsp salt dissolved in 1/4 C hot water
• 1/8 tsp cracked black pepper
• Marinate in refrigerator for at least 8 hours

Plated Cucumbers

• Japanese, Kirby, Persian cucumbers or English cucumber
• Peel leaving some green in between peeled strips (for color)
• Cut into 1/4 inch thick slices
• In a measuring cup combine 2 TBL apple cider vinegar and 2 TBL pickle brine (from a standard jar of pickles)
• Add 2 TBL EVOO, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp dill seed
• Toss cucumber slices in the vinegar mixture
• Plate cucumber slices on a plate
• Sprinkle with grated pepper and Maldon salt
• Sprinkle with capers and pickled red onion

Pickled Red Onion

1. Slice red onion as thinly as you can
2. Boil 2-3 TBL apple cider vinegar (microwave 30 seconds)
3. Melt 1 tsp sugar into the vinegar
4. Pour over the red onions and let cool for at least 15 minutes

Cucumber Carrot Salad

• 1 medium to large cucumber – Halved and seeds removed, then sliced thin
• 1 large sweet onion – Halved and sliced very thin
• 1/2 carrot – Julienne strips
• 2 radishes – Sliced thin
• Combine
  – Apple Cider to almost cover mixture
  – 3 TBS Dill
  – 1 TBS brown sugar
  – 1 tsp Worcestershire
• Shake to combine and coat
• Let marinate at least overnight
• Serve cold

Daikon Cucumber Salad

• Slice cucumber thin on a mandolin
• Julienne strips of carrot
• Mandolin Daikon Radish very thin
• Toss with marinate ( below )
• Let rest for one hour
• Toss with pieces of green onion (green and white)
  Cut on the bias in about 1/4 inch pieces

Marinate for Daikon Cuke Salad

• 3/4 C rice wine
• 1 tsp minced Ginger
• 1 tsp minced Garlic
• 1 tsp Sambal olek
• 1 tsp Brown sugar
• 1 tsp Fish sauce

Cucumber and Jicama Salad

• Combine in a large mixing bowl
  – Juice and zest from one lime
  – 1 hand of cilantro – chopped
  – 2 TBL Rice Vinegar
  – 1 TBL honey
  – 1/4 tsp ground cayenne pepper
  – 1/2 tsp salt
  – 1 TBL EVOO
  – 2 scallions – Cut on the bias in 1/4 inch pieces
• Toss with
  – Cucumber cut into 2 inch pieces, and then cut into strips
  – 1/2 as much jicama, also cut into strips of the same length and thickness
• Optional
  – Add 1/8 C smashed peanuts
  – Add 1/2 C shredded chicken

Pickled Cucumbers

• Peel cukes, slice in half, and remove seeds.
  • Alternately use a Benreiner Spiralizer
• Slice thinly as possible
• Add in large canning jar
  – 1/2 C sugar
  – 1 tsp salt
  – 1 tsp ground Cardamom
  – 1 tsp ground Alspiace
• Add 1/2 C rice wine vinegar (HOT)
• Optional
  – 1/2 tsp black sesame seeds

Marinated Cucumbers: VIDEO

Here is a cooking class that I took while on board the Holland America.

Marinated Cucumbers: VIDEO