Cool as a cucumber

Whether they are pickled, tossed in a salad, or used in a dip, cucumbers find their way into many meals. They are not typically the stars of any meal, although the team at Serious Eats thinks they are underrated. Reminding us of “the cucumber’s sweet, grassy flavor and refreshing crunch”, Serious Eats provides 22 cucumber recipes to keep you cool during the hot days of summer.

The first recipe that caught my eye was for a Greek salad, which differed from most of the recipes you will find (at least in the US) because it contained no lettuce. The Serious Eats team are “firm believers that lettuce has no place in a Greek salad. It serves as a largely flavorless filler, taking up space that should be devoted to tomatoes at the peak of their ripeness and quality,” although the crunch of cucumber provides a natural contrast to the silky tomatoes.

All of the pickling recipes also captured my attention, as my garden currently overfloweth with cucumbers (I may have accidentally grabbed a second pack of cucumbers when I meant to get squash. Oops.) And I will definitely try the stir fry featuring cucumbers. The high heat of the wok renders cucumbers “tender and juicy without turning them into mush.”

The EYB Library is filled with more delicious ways to use up your garden’s (or the supermarket’s) bounty – over 9,000 recipes that incorporate cucumbers in beverages, salads, soups, and more. Below are several recipes that have earned high marks from Members. What’s your favorite way to eat a cucumber?

• Smacked cucumber in garlicky sauce (Suan ni pai huang gua)  from Every Grain of Rice by Fuchsia Dunlop
• Cucumber and poppy seed salad from Ottolenghi: The Cookbook by Yotam Ottolenghi
• Cucumber yogurt dip (Tzatziki)from Live to Eat by Michael Psilakis
• Sippin’ green gazpacho from Bon Appétit Magazine
• Vinegar slaw with cucumbers and dill from The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook by Deb Perelman
• Bashed cucumber and radish salad from At My Table by Nigella Lawson (pictured above)
• Cucumber and yogurt soup with walnuts and rose petals from A Change of Appetite by Diana Henry
• Cucumber, celery, and gin sorbet from Martha Stewart Living Magazine