IN SEASON
The humble cucumber is one of the world’s healthiest foods, perfect for everything from salads to cocktails.
Bloody Mary Gazpacho Soup
Serves 6. Roughly chop 1 small seedless cucumber, 2 acid-free tomatoes, 1 red beefsteak tomato, 1 red capsicum and 1 small red onion. Add to a food processor fitted with a blade attachment and pulse until coarsely chopped – but ensure you don’t over pulse. Transfer the chopped vegetables to a large bowl. Add 1 ½ cups tomato juice, 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce, 2 tsp Tabasco sauce and ½ cup horseradish cream. Mix well to combine. Add ½ cup vodka. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Chill in the fridge for 2 hours or overnight. Spoon gazpacho into short glasses. Garnish with celery sticks and pickles.
Sweet Pickled Cucumbers
Slice 3 cucumbers, leaving the skins on. Slice 3 onions. Layer slices in a colander, sprinkle each layer with 50g salt. Place a plate over them, press down with a heavy weight. Leave for 3 hours. Pour off liquid. Place 570ml wine vinegar, 450g brown sugar, ½ tsp turmeric, ¼ tsp ground cloves and 1 tbsp mustard seeds into a pan, stir over heat until sugar has dissolved. Add cucumber and onion, bring to the boil and simmer for 1 minute. Remove the pan from the heat, spoon cucumber and onion into sterilised jars. Boil vinegar mixture for 15 minutes, pour over vegetables in jars and seal. Store for a month before serving.
Cucumber & Crab Rice Paper Rolls
Makes 8. Soak 50g thin rice vermicelli in cold water for 10 minutes. Pick over 150g crab meat to remove any shell. Combine 1 shredded carrot with 1 tsp sugar and 2 tsp fish sauce. Thinly slice 1 large cucumber. Prepare a flat basin of warm water. Immerse 1 sheet of round rice paper. Remove, spread out flat. Lay some cucumber slices over the bottom third of the rice paper. On cucumber, place 1 tbsp noodles, 1 tbsp carrot, some crab meat, a few bean sprouts and mint leaves. Roll up the paper into a cylinder, folding in both sides of the paper over the filling. Repeat with remaining ingredients and rice paper. Serve with dipping sauce.
Cucumber & Apple Salad
Serves 6. Wash 4 Lebanese cucumbers, then slice thinly and place in a sieve. Leave to drain for about 20 minutes. Core 1 green apple and slice thinly. Wash and trim 1 fennel bulb, removing the tough outer leaves and stem and reserving the fronds. Slice finely. Combine 3 tbsp lemon extra-virgin olive oil, 2 tbsp tarragon vinegar, 2 tbsp fresh dill (or 1 tsp dried dill), 1 tsp caraway seeds, 1 tsp sumac and mix well. Season to taste. Drizzle over the vegetables. Arrange salad on a platter with some torn pieces of buffalo mozzarella, sprinkle with toasted pine nuts. Garnish with fennel fronds. Place the salad in the fridge for an hour before serving.