Skip to main content

Cooking the fridge. Smashed Cucumbers with Sizzled Turmeric and Garlic

More Alison Roman.
Made this on Friday night as part of the cooking the fridge series. We had it with a piece of salmon we had in the freezer.
I used ground turmeric and it worked really well. It worked really well with the Asian style salmon we had.
(Serves 4 to 6)
1/2 cup grapeseed oil
6 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
1-inch knob fresh turmeric, coarsely chopped, or 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon flaky sea salt, plus more for seasoning
9 Persian cucumbers, or 3 hothouse cucumbers, cut into 1-inch chunks
2 scallions or 1 spring onion, green and white parts thinly sliced
3 tablespoons distilled white vinegar, white wine vinegar, or rice wine vinegar, plus more to taste
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup fresh mixed herbs, such as dill and mint, tender leaves and stems or more to taste
Heat the oil in a medium pot over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook, swirling the pot occasionally, until the garlic is sizzling loudly and looks (and smells) delightfully toasted, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the turmeric and flaky salt and swirl the pot. Remove from the heat; set aside.
Place the cucumbers in a large resealable plastic bag and season with salt. Using a heavy skillet, rolling pin, or anything heavy, smash the cucumbers until they split and explode a bit. Let them sit a few minutes to release some of that water.
Drain the cucumbers, discarding any liquid. Combine cucumbers, scallions, and vinegar in a large serving bowl. Season with salt, pepper, and more vinegar. Drizzle with the toasted garlic oil, letting it run into the tiny scraggly bits. Scatter wit the herbs before serving.
Do Ahead: Cucumbers can be smashed a few hours ahead, draining and seasoning before serving. Crunchy garlic and turmeric oil can be made 2 days ahead, covered, and refrigerated; bring to room temperature before using.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Crack potatoes courtesy of Ottolenghi. Harissa and confit garlic roast potatoes

Another recipe from Ottolenghi's Simple, another recommendation from Will Saunders.   I know its the middle of summer but who doesn't love a roastie? These little tinkers are so good that they are like crack, class A calories. The clever bit is the addition of semolina and caraway seeds which adds a new level of crunchiness to add to the delicious warm heat of Harissa. Heres the recipe These make a lovely, spicy change from the traditional Sunday roasties. They’re especially good with spiced roast meat. Serves six to eight. 2 large heads garlic, cloves separated and peeled 130g goose or duck fat 4 sprigs fresh rosemary  6 sprigs fresh thyme  2kg maris piper potatoes, peeled and cut into 5cm chunks 40g ground semolina 2 tsp caraway seeds, toasted and lightly crushed 2 tbsp rose harissa Flaky sea salt Heat the oven to 150C/300F/gas mark 2. Put the garlic, fat and herbs in a small ovenproof pan or saucepan for which you have a lid. Cover and roast for 40 minut
1 comment
Read more

Nigel Slaters deceptively brilliant monkfish

Lisa discovered this recipe in her favourite Nigel book. It is one of those fish, 'but not as we know it Jim' recipes. Not just because Monkfish is the fish that can best impersonate meat but also because of the marinade ingredients that are more often featured with lamb. It's not difficult to do but the flavour is a revelation, which makes it a perfect recipe in my book. This can be cooked on a grill pan or a barbecue. Ingredients 3 bushy sprigs rosemary, leaves finely chopped 4 anchovy fillets 2 large cloves garlic salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 large lemon, juice only 3 tbsp olive oil 800g/1½lb monkfish fillet Method Pull the leaves from the rosemary stalks and chop them finely, then tip them into a bowl large enough to take the fish. Rinse the anchovy fillets and smash them to a rough pulp with the flat edge of your chopping knife. Peel the garlic, crush it flat, then smash it to a purée in the same way. Stir together the herb, anchovy and garlic, adding a grind
1 comment
Read more

Sea Bass on mushroom potatoes with salsa Verde

I felt the overwhelming need to cook something new on Saturday night. I didn't want the tired and tested I wanted to explore new culinary waters. However combined with this desire was an equal and opposing force, driven by being absolutely knackered, that meant it had to be simple too. I returned to one of Jamie's early books, to a recipe that IO had meant to do on countless occasions but never quite got round to. I have done several versions of Sea Bass on a bed of potatoes, some that I have written about on this blog. The one question I would have is about the thickness of the potatoes and the length of time they need to be cooked through ... in my oven I reckon they need about 10 minutes more than the recipe suggests. I would suggest a bit of a trial run if you are going to do it for a dinner party ... however once you have given it a whirl I think this makes for a very easy recipe for a crowd. Here's the recipe. Roasted slashed fillet of sea bass stuffed with herbs, bak
1 comment
Read more