Cucumber Recipes: 5 Delicious Dishes
If you want to know how to make cucumber water or salad, check out these delicious recipes.
Editorial
09/04/2019 12:00h
However, how can we cook it at home to enjoy all its benefits? Below you will find 5 delicious recipes that are very easy to prepare.
How to cook cucumber
Although it is most commonly eaten raw (mainly as a salad) or pickled (accompanied by mustard and bread), did you know that it can also be cooked?
It will probably surprise you, but there are different techniques to cook this vegetable the same way that we do with other ones:
Roasted
It is one of the easiest and healthiest cucumber recipes. Just wash it, cut it in half with a knife horizontally, and with the help of a spoon remove the seeds that you will find in the two halves.
Cut it into several vertical strips, place them in a large bowl and add a little salt on top, letting it stand for 30 minutes. Then place the strips in a strainer and rinse them with cold water to remove the salt.
Put baking paper on the tray, sprinkle it all on it, season again to taste, and bake at 190 ºC for 1 hour. It is essential that every 25 minutes, you stir the strips to prevent them from burning.
Fried
To prepare fried cucumber recipes, follow the same steps indicated in the previous one, washing it, cutting it in half, removing its seeds with the help of a spoon, and cutting into several strips. Place in a large bowl, add salt, stir and let stand 30 minutes. Then place the pieces in a strainer and rinse with cold water, leaving them to dry.
Once they are dry, it's time to fry them. To do this, add a little olive oil in a frying pan, and when it is hot, fry it (just keep them on the heat for about 4 to 5 minutes).
5 delicious cucumber recipes
Although it is very common to eat raw cucumber (preferably in salad), there are also other options to prepare it. Below are 5 cucumber recipes to eat or drink it easily at home, thus enjoying all its incredible benefits.
1. German cucumber salad (Gurkensalat)
If you are passionate about the refreshing taste of this fruit and want to make a healthy low-calorie cucumber recipe perfect for hot summer days, you will love this delicious original cucumber salad.
Ingredients
- 5 cucumbers
- Pickles (to taste)
- Natural yogurt
- Leek
- Lemon
- Apple vinegar
- Dill
- Ground black pepper
- Salt
Method
Wash the 5 vegetables, cut them into several vertical pieces. Then do the same with the pickles, but this time cut them into slices. Place them in a large bowl and add salt, leaving stand 30 minutes. After this time, rinse to remove excess salt, and drain.
Peel the leek and cut it in tiny pieces.
In a large bowl put the cucumbers, pickles, dill, a dash of lemon juice, yogurt, apple vinegar, and ground black pepper.
Mix it all and put the cucumber salad in the fridge. Ready!
2. Cucumber yogurt salad
Following the steps of the previous recipe, we can prepare a cucumber salad just as refreshing, but even easier: we only need 5 minutes and 3 ingredients.
Ingredients
- 2 cucumbers
- Fresh dill (or ground in spice)
- Natural yogurt
Method
Wash them, then cut into slices. To remove excess water, place them in a large bowl, add salt and leave for 30 minutes. Then, rinse under cold running water to remove excess salt.
Put them in a new bowl. Add natural yogurt and dill (which can be fresh or ground), and mix to make the perfect cucumber salad.
Serve cold.
3. Cucumber au gratin
If you prefer a hot meal, cucumber au gratin is one of the best cucumber recipes and a completely different way to enjoy this wonderful vegetable.
Ingredients
- 1 large cucumber
- 60 g grated cheese
- 25 g breadcrumbs
- 25 g butter
- Ground black pepper
- Salt
Method
Preheat the oven at 220º C.
Wash it and cut it into slices. Put water in a saucepan, add salt, and cook the cucumber for 4 minutes until it reaches boiling point. Then drain with the help of a strainer.
Grease an oven tray with a little oil and then place half of the sliced vegetable. Now add a little cheese and breadcrumbs, and half the butter.
Now make another layer with the rest of the ingredients. Finish with the rest of the butter, and sprinkle to taste with ground black pepper.
Cook at 220º C for 20 minutes, until you notice that the topping is golden and crisp.
4. Cucumber and lemon juice
Cucumber recipes to make drinks are also very easy and healthy. This time we explain how to make a refreshing juice, perfect for drinking on ice on summer days.
Ingredients
- 1 large cucumber
- 1 lemon
- Half a glass of water
Method
To prepare this delicious cucumber recipe, begin by washing it. Then cut it into slices and put them into a blender. Cut the lemon in half, and squeeze it, keeping its juice.
Add the freshly squeezed lemon juice to the blender. Add the water.
Blend until all ingredients are integrated.
That's it! Serve very cold, with ice and a slice of lemon.
5. Cucumber water
This becomes another excellent cucumber recipe to enjoy the different qualities offered by this vegetable. For example, it stands out for being a recognized drink with slimming, alkalinizing, detox, depurative and diuretic properties.
Ingredients
- 1 large cucumber
- Half a lemon
- 1.5 liters of water
Method
Wash, peel and cut it in several slices (if you wish, you can save some for the moment of serving the drink). Put the rest in the blender.
Put the water in a glass jar and add the freshly obtained cucumber juice. Mix.
Split the lemon, squeeze it and add it as well.
Finally, keep it in the fridge. When serving it, add some more slices too.
As we have seen throughout this article, not only can we enjoy the cucumber in pickled or raw form. How do you like it better?
Cucumber varieties
Nature allows us to choose between different types, which helps us prepare different cucumber recipes. We can divide them into five large groups:
1. Persian
They usually have a small and slender size.
2. Garden
They have a somewhat smaller size because their growth is slightly slower. Also, because they have a thinner skin, it is common to use them for pickling, facilitating the penetration of brine.
3. English (or seedless)
They are typically long and thin, with moist flesh, tender and thin skin, and unformed seeds. Their taste is usually milder, and they are not bitter.
4. Armenian
They are basically an African melon, but with an elongated shape.
5. Gherkins
They are round and consist of a thorny fruit of about 2 to 3 centimeters in length.
Check out the original article: Recetas con pepino: cómo cocinarlo en 5 platos deliciosos at viviendolasalud.com