cucumbers — Recipes — Prospect Heights CSA

From CSA member Ellice Lee!

One of my favorite things about Summer is eating crunchy, fresh veggies—and especially if they're spicy and a tad bit sweet! This recipe is a quick go-to. It takes about 15 min to prep and 15 min of marinating and then it's ready to serve. Tastes even better on Day 2, so you can always make this a day ahead of time.

Ingredients (Serves 4 to 6)
11⁄2 pounds (680 g) Korean, English hothouse, or Persian cucumbers
1⁄4 pound (115 g, or about 1 large bunch) Chinese garlic chives, cut into 1 1⁄2-inch (4 cm) pieces (or substitute green onions!)
1 cup (100 g) thinly sliced sweet white onion
2 tablespoons gochugaru (Korean hot pepper flakes—make sure you use the flakes, not the powder, or else it will be REALLY spicy)
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar (non or lightly seasoned)
2 teaspoons packed brown sugar (or honey, agave)
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
11⁄2 teaspoons kosher salt

Directions

Cut the cucumbers into 2-inch (5 cm) pieces, then cut each of those pieces in fours.

Place the cucumbers in a large mixing bowl, then add the garlic chives, onion, gochugaru, rice wine vinegar, sweetener of choice, sesame oil, sesame seeds, and salt.
Mix everything together well with your hands, then pack it into a nonreactive storage container, such as glass or plastic.

You can eat this right away, but it tastes better if left to sit at room temperature for 15 minutes. This will last 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator.

This recipe has been adapted from Sohui Kim's Korean Home Cooking.

Making pickles doesn’t have to involve canning.You can make great pickles right inyour refrigerator! Here are some I made recently, based on recipes from the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving and Canning for a New Generation.

Easy Bread and Butter Refrigerator Pickles based on Ball

Makes about 4 pint jars or 2 quart jars

1/4 c. pickling spice (see below or buy pre-made from the store)
6 c. pickling cucumbers (the little ones), cut into 1/2 inch slices
1 onion, peeled and sliced in 1/4 inch slices
3 c. white vinegar
2/3 c. granulated sugar
2 T. pickling or canning salt, or pure Kosher salt
1 T. prepared horseradish
1 T. celery seeds
1 T. Pickle Crisp (TM) if you have it (keeps pickles crispy)
2 t. ground ginger
1 t. ground turmeric

1. If you have cheesecloth, tie the spices in some cheesecloth to make a spice bag. If you don’t, don’t worry about it, just get all your spices together.

2. In a large glass or stainless steel bowl, combine cucumbers and onions.

3. In a medium non-reactive saucepan, combine vinegar, sugar, salt, horseradish, celery seeds, Pickle Crisp, ginger, turmeric, and your spice bag (or just throw the spices in there). Bring to a boil over medium high heat. Reduce heat, cover, and boil gently for 5 minutes.

4. Pour pickling liquid over cucumber mixture. Cover with waxed paper or paper towel and set aside until cooled to room temperature, at least 30 minutes. Discard spice bag if you used one.

5. Pack cucumbers and onions into clean glass jars to within a generous 1/2 inch from the top. Ladle pickling liquid into the jar to cover the vegetables, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Apply clean lids. Refrigerate for at least 24 hours before serving. For best results, allow cucumbers to marinate in the refrigerator for at least 2 weeks and use within three months.

Pickling Spice from Canning for a New Generation

Combine as many of these as you have in an airtight container. I replaced some of the whole spices with ground…don’t tell the recipe police.

1 T. black mustard seeds
1 T. yellow mustard seeds
1 T. allspice berries, crushed
1 T. dill seeds
1/2 T. whole cloves
1 dried red chili, crushed
3 cinnamon sticks, crushed
1/2 nutmeg, crushed
3 bay leaves, crumbled
1 t. black peppercorns
1 t. whole coriander seeds
1 t. cardamom pods, crushed
1/2 star anise pod, crushed