Cucumber

How to store Cucumber

Store in the salad drawer of the fridge. They’ll last a week or so, but are better fresh.

Prep & Cooking tips

You can eat our cucumbers just as they are: after washing there’s no need to peel. The seedy section inside is watery, so once sliced or diced, the cucumber will give off lots of water, especially if it’s left to sit for a while. To avoid this, you can slice the cucumber lengthways and use a teaspoon to scoop out the seeds before chopping.

Think beyond just slicing into salads. Grate into tzatziki, make raita for curries, pop a slice into G&T, add to stir-fries, braise in butter, steam, grill or bake.

Easy ideas

1. Cooked

Don’t be alarmed by the idea of a cooked cucumber. These are good warm as a side to poached salmon or chicken, or cold in a salad. Remove the soft, seedy core with a teaspoon and then chop into batons or chunks. Fry gently for 1 min before adding a dash of cider vinegar or wine. Add a few tbsp of water and a pinch of salt. Braise gently for 8-10 mins, until tender but retaining a firm bite.

2. Pickled

Slice your cucumbers into thin discs or pull them into long thin ribbons with a peeler. At its simplest you just need a shake of cider vinegar and a pinch of sugar and salt. They will soak up the pickle in as little as 15 mins. Drain away the liquid and finish with some fresh herbs; dill or mint work well. Go Asian by replacing the vinegar and salt with lime and fish sauce; tumble with chilli, spring onions and coriander to finish. You can make a darker, longer-storing pickle; try this recipe for cucumber pickle.

3. Salad

Diced, sliced or chopped into chunky batons. A simple dressing of soured cream and chopped dill make a Scandi-style side, especially good with smoked fish. Try throwing some with a little chopped red chilli, toasted coconut, black onion seeds and squeeze of lemon for a companion to curries.

4. Gin & Tonic

Slide a slice into an ice cold gin and tonic. It seems to enhance the floral botanicals of the gin without overpowering it. You can dine on the garnish at the end, too.

Goes well with

Dairy (Cream, Crème fraiche, Feta, Yogurt)

Herbs (Basil, Chervil, Chives, Dill, Mint)

Melon

Oily fish

Shellfish

White fish

Tomato

Vinegar

Walnuts