Morsures de Concombre Bruschetta (Cucumber Bruschetta Bites)

Simple, but fancy...especially if you use the French ("morsures de concombre..."); I took these to this year's Christmas dinner party, our annual Fête de Noël, with my French lady friends.

Ingredients
1 English cucumber
½ C bruschetta*
¼ C crumbled chevre (feta would also work well)
fresh cracked pepper and basil leaves to garnish

* This time, I used a purchased bruschetta mix; but a quick mix of tomato, garlic, basil, maybe a little onion or olive or other herbs like oregano or a dash of paprika...anything similar would work! 

Directions
If desired, peel cucumber (I used a julienne slicer to partially peel the cucumber for added visual appeal.) Slice the cucumber. Top each slice with a half teaspoon of bruschetta. Garnish with crumbled chevre and a basil leave. Sprinkle with coarse ground black pepper.

Pickled Cucumbers

 At a luau in Hawaii last week we were served a salad of pickled cucumbers and papaya -- along with fresh pineapple, a seaweed salad, and lomi lomi salmon...those were just the salads (pictured at bottom). I'm not sure exactly what was in the luau's pickling marinade, but this (below) is a very basic sweet and sour pickling recipe that I 'grew up on' -- mostly for cucumbers. It's easy to play around with by using different vinegars, adding dill (with less sugar usually), garlic, thinly sliced red onion (for flavor and color), chile peppers if you want hot pickled cucumbers... I may try to recreate the luau salad, but even this basic recipe is good...a light, fresh pickled salad or side dish. (And thanks, Galina, for the cucumbers from your garden!)

Ingredients
2-3 medium cucumbers
1 C sugar
1 C apple cider vinegar
2+ C water
salt & pepper

Directions
Peel (optional) and slice the cucumbers into an air tight container. Add the remaining ingredients, stirring to dissolve all the sugar. You can heat it (just the brine, not the cucumbers!) to dissolve the sugar, but I've not found it to be necessary. Season the brine to taste with salt and pepper. If needed, add a little extra water so that all cucumber slices are covered. Refrigerate 8-10 hours (overnight is best) before serving so cucumbers are well marinated in the brine.

Cucumber & Smoked Salmon Verrines

Verrine is French for 'glass case' or 'protective glass'. In a culinary context, it refers to any layered recipe, usually an appetizer or dessert, served in individual glass dishes. Goblets can work. You might even use any clear, glass, drinking glasses...depending on the size and shape (smaller breakfast/juice glasses?).

Ingredients (Serves 4):
1 cucumber
dash salt
1 Tbls lime juice
1 lime
1 tablespoon olive oil + more to drizzle
½ apple (green or pink lady)
4 pink radishes
9 tablespoons plain yogurt
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint
1 tablespoon chopped dill
4-6 oz smoked salmon, diced
½ tsp cracked red peppercorns

Peel and seed cucumber, grate it and place it in a colander. Sprinkle with salt and let rest on the side for 30 minutes to drain. Peel, core and cut the apple in small sticks and drizzle with lime juice to prevent oxidation. Transfer to a bowl. Wash and trim the radishes; cut into very small sticks.

Press on the cucumber with the tip of your fingers to squeeze out the excess water; combine with the apple and radish sticks. Add the fresh herbs, 1 tablespoon yogurt* and the olive oil. No need to add more salt as the cucumber is already seasoned.

Divide between four glasses. Top with 2 tablespoons of yogurt in each glass and finish with the diced smoked salmon. (I made two layers of each ingredient in my verrines.) Drizzle with olive oil and top with cracked red peppercorns. Garnish with lime slices -- to drizzle with extra lime juice. Serve with bread sticks.



















This image isn't anything I made personally (it's a street-side vendor's treat, for sale in Venice when I was visiting earlier this summer); but it is another example of a verrine...a honey, yogurt, granola, and mixed fruit verrine. Beautiful presentation and it doesn't require any complicated recipe or prep work.

Braised Cucumber

1-2 cucumbers
1-2 Tbls butter
salt
1 Tbls lemon juice
1 pinch dried mint

Peel cucumbers, slice lengthwise in quarters and remove seeds. Cut into 1" chunks. Melt butter in a skillet; add cucumbers and lightly salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until cucumbers turn somewhat translucent and begin to brown. Add lemon juice and mint; cook 2-3 more minutes, stirring so cucumbers are browned evenly.

Variation: I've seen a very similar recipe that used vinegar (instead of lemon juice) and dill (instead of mint). Sounds like a tasty alternative to me.