Salt Your Cucumbers Overnight - by Trevor Joyce
In the latest sign that summer is coming, real-deal cucumbers (in other words: neither grown in a hothouse nor trucked in from warmer climes) have arrived at the market. At Union Square in New York, I love the ones from Lani’s Farm, which are a unique shade of pale yellow and astoundingly crunchy. These are best eaten right out of your market bag as soon as you’re home, maybe snapped in half with some salt, if not chomped on promptly with no ornamentation at all. But barring that, today’s dish is a second-best preparation for cucumbers of all sorts.
If you have the time, slicing up your cukes in a bowl and coating them in salt overnight is a fantastic way to boost their flavor. Much like the common Chinese method of quick-curing smashed cucumbers in soy sauce and aromatics, it paradoxically heightens their freshness and crunch while thoroughly seasoning (and avoiding the pickling stage). I do this countless times in the summer when cucumbers are abundant, and I particularly love the byproduct of this process: a surfeit of salty cucumber liquid drawn out from the vegetable, which can be used in dressings, sauces, and even beverages for a dose of concentrated cucumber essence.
Frequently, I like to loosen a conventional salsa verde with this cucumber water into a sort of herb-cucumber vinaigrette, which then dresses the salted chunks for an easy salad. In this instance, I added a tablespoon of that water to a chickpea purée, which served as a counterpart to the sliced cucumber tossed with a bounty of herbs, pistachios, and fennel pollen. This was something of a luxe take on an after-school snack of cucumber spears and hummus, done up with a lot of potent, herby flavors.
Ingredients
2 large cucumbers or 4-5 Persian cucumbers
A variety of tender herbs: basil, parsley, cilantro, mint, etc.
1 can chickpeas, with 2-3 tablespoons of chickpea water reserved
3 scallions, sliced thin
Handful of pistachios, chopped roughly
3 additional tablespoons of pistachios, for purée
Dried oregano
Juice of 1 lemon
Fennel pollen (optional)
Extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
Instructions
Peel the cucumbers and slice them into medium-size chunks. Place in a bowl and coat them in a generous (but not excessive) amount of salt. Cover and place in the fridge overnight or at least 2-3 hours.
Remove the cucumbers from the fridge and let them come a bit closer to room temperature; drain the cucumber water and reserve.
In a blender, add the chickpeas, chickpea water, half the lemon juice, half the scallions, 3 tablespoons pistachios, 1/3 cup of olive oil, and oregano to taste. Purée until completely smooth. Add the reserved cucumber water until it reaches a hummus-like texture.
Roughly chop the herbs.
In a bowl, combine the cucumbers, herbs, remaining scallions, remaining lemon juice, and handful of chopped pistachios. Dress with olive oil and salt to taste if needed.
Plate the cucumbers on top of a dollop of chickpea purée and sprinkle with fennel pollen.
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