Cucumber ideas please?

[nick the grief]

I say Rat, your quite civilised up there aren't you Cucumber soup!! I stick it in vinigar with oinion & have it on me cheese sarnie !!

[JennieAtkinson]

I say Rat, your quite civilised up there aren't you Cucumber soup!! I stick it in vinigar with oinion & have it on me cheese sarnie !!

None of that pickling stuff up here Nick! We are in to the cordon blue stuff up here you know!

Nice recipe Rat - sounds scrummy and if I get some more cukes I may try it. Have a second one, unfortunately it had got stuck between the shelf and the bed and has grown into a complete circle - looks like a huge green caterpiller.
On second thoughts it probably is destined for soup!

[pickledtink]

An Italian friend made a tortilla with cucumber in my kitchen once. She sprinkled salt on thin slices and let it drain then squeezed them to get the liquid out.
Sauted them very lightly in a small frying pan then stirred in beaten eggs with some salt and pepper. Cook gently then turn over and cook other side. it was delicious. She used one whole large cucumber and about 6 eggs.

[mandyballantyne]

Made some cream of cucumber soup today - and though I say so myself, it was bloody good. Before i put the recipe to you, I will say that it says 4 oz of cucumber - bollox, I put a whole 1lb cuke in !

Melt 2oz butter in pan.
Cut and finely dice cucumber (washed but not peeled) and put in pan with butter. Cook for two mins ensuring cuke is coated with butter. Add 1oz of plain flour and cook for further two minutes. Then remove from heat and stir in half pint of stock (chicken or veggie - you choose) and 1pt whole milk - add these gradually and alternate between the two, stirring all the while. Return to heat and bring to boil, still stirring. When soup is boiled and lookin' good and you're gettin' hungry, remove from heat again. In a small bowl mix the yolk of one egg with 2 tablespoons of single cream - add to soup, stir will, ladle into bowl, garnish with some chopped parsley or very thinly sliced cuke, eat and enjoy.

Sounds great, just picked 4 large cukes so of to turn them into soup, getting hungry think about it.

Thanks Rat,

Mandy

[mandyballantyne]

Hi Rat,

Just had some of your soup for lunch, it is fantastic thanks for the receipe.

Only downside is I thought I had made too much and gave half of it away last night, wish I hadn't now.

Mandy

[Snadger]

Tasty Burpless. I think they are an outside cucumber, so thought I might get away with them up here. Lots of flowers and small cucumbers looking as though they might develop into something.

Its kinda interesting that a number of my veg are 2 weeks behind you - beans and tomatoes too.

Always do well here in the North East...had about six cucumbers already off two plants. Much prefer there taste to greenhouse cucumbers even though they are a bit spikey to handle !
I have had good success with apple cucumbers grown outdoors here also..but haven't grown them this season

[Two_Sheds]

Cucumber & Lemon Jam

Cucumber and Lemon Jam

3 lb. green cucumbers, sliced thinly (peeling is optional)
3 fresh lemons
2 ½ lb sugar
1 pint water


Sprinkle cucumber lightly with salt and allow to remain for several hours or overnight, then rinse & drain.

Chop the lemons and boil in a covered pan for 45 mins.
Strain the liquid into a preserving pan, add the cucumber & cook for 15 mins.

Add the sugar, and finish the cooking rapidly in an uncovered pan, 15-20 mins.

Pack into sterilised jars.

[Australian Cookery of Today; Sun News-Pictorial; Prudence; 1930s]

[Two_Sheds]

Cucumber & Chilli Relish

Cucumber Relish

500 g cucumber, sliced
250 g onion, finely sliced
100g red/green chillies, de-seeded & sliced (Pimento is good)
250 ml white wine vinegar
125 g sugar
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp salt
extra salt for the prepping

Sprinkle cucumber, onion, and chillies with salt and leave for 12 hours or overnight. Rinse well, dry in a salad spinner

Boil the vinegar with sugar, mustard seeds, turmeric and 1/2 tsp salt for 5 mins. Add the well-drained vegetables and boil for 5 more mins, then pack into sterilised jars

[Two_Sheds]

Cucumber Pickle

Jo’s Award Winning Cucumber Pickle

4 large cucumbers, thinly sliced
3 medium onions, thinly sliced
50g salt

For the syrup:
1pt/570ml of white wine vinegar
1lb/454g of soft brown sugar
½ level tsp of ground turmeric
½ level tsp of ground cloves
1 tbsp of mustard seed

sterilised jars

(Being independent, we also put a large sprig of wild fennel in each jar when we added the vegetables).

----------------


In a large bowl, layer cucumbers and onions with a sprinkling of salt in between the layers. Weigh down with a plate.
Stand for three hours or overnight.

Rinse & drain the cucumbers and onions under running water twice.

Put vinegar, sugar and spices in a stainless steel saucepan and stir over a medium heat until the sugar is dissolved.

Add the cucumber and onions to the saucepan and bring to the boil.

Boil syrup and vegetables for a couple of mins. Remove the vegetables with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Reduce remaining syrup for 15-20 min.
After ten mins or so, gently fill warm, sterilised jars with vegetables. Don’t press down.
When syrup has reduced, pour it over the veg, and seal your jars.

http://www.cottagesmallholder.com/?p=48

[Two_Sheds]

Cucumber & Apple Chutney

Val's Cucumber & Apple Chutney

2 lb (1 kg) cucumber
2 lb (1 kg) cooking apples, peeled, cored & chopped
1lb 8 oz (650 g) onions, chopped
1 pint (600ml) vinegar
1 lb (500 g) demerara sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
sterilised jars


Cut the cucumber in half lengthways and scoop out the seeds (if a ridge variety peel as well). Chop finely.

Place the apples, onions and cucumber into a pan with the vinegar and bring to the boil and simmer until soft.

Add the sugar, salt and cayenne and stir until the sugar is dissolved.

Continue simmering until the chutney thickens, stirring occasionally.

Pour into warm sterilised jars and seal.

Val's Recipe for Cucumber and Apple Chutney

[Digger Don]

We have a tasty chinese soup recipe from " The Complete book of Chinese Cooking" ISBN 0-75252-057-1.
Am dubious about putting the full details on the net but it involves sliced mushroom and cucumbers with rice noodles, the only flavouring being soy sauce.
takes about 12 minutes and we love it.

[leicestershirelass]

Many thanks for cucumber recipes ... have already made pickle, relish and chutney ... don't really fancy making cucumber soup, but intrigued by cucumber jam so will give that a try as given lots of cucumbers away recently and still more cropping.

I've grown 2 mini-cucumbers and 4 'normal' and have been very pleased with what they've produced.

[leicestershirelass]

intrigued by cucumber jam so will give that a try

hmmmmmmmmmmm! well I've just finished making it and popped it into sterilised jars as instructed

.... I'll have to reserve judgement until I've tasted it, but first impressions aren't too good!! ... hopefully tastes better than it looks!!

... anyone else made it?

[Tomatoking]

Tomato and Cucumber Soup

I've recently found a wonderful recipe from Delia's Vegetarian Collection book called Gardener's Soup which is excellent. I've already made loads to eat now and also put loads in the freezer. Ideal for using up a glut of tomatoes and cucumbers. She puts lettuce in the soup as well, but I left this out and it still tasted wonderful. I'll look up the recipe and post it if anyone's interested.

[RobintheBobin]

Can anyone tell me if I'm supposed to peel the cukes when making pickles? I would peel them when I eat them fresh but not sure if it is different when cooking?

These recipes have inspired me...

Thanks