While we were away on vacation we had a neighbor watering my garden. Unfortunately I didn’t give them instructions on what to do with the vegetables so they just let them grow unhindered for two weeks. I came home to five gigantic cucumbers much too large for pickling and much too large for the scrawny plant to which they were attached. What to do, what to do?
Well, I started with my usual summery cucumber salad recipe: red wine vinegar, sour cream, salt, pepper, and sugar. This has been a favorite of mine since I was a little kid and my parents were faced with the same dilemma as I currently am and being that my wife enjoys it I figured it was a good way to get rid of one of the cukes. Unfortunately that left four more to eat up.
Well, today I went searching online for interesting cucumber recipes and came across this pretty simple site which offers a variety of different cucumber recipe options including one that immediately caught my eye, Fried Cucumbers:
Wash and slice cucumbers. Dip them in a mixture of egg and a little milk. Coat them in flour or corn meal and fry in a skillet like you would fried green tomatoes.
Being that I adore fried green tomatoes (one of my most favorite stops during the State Fair), this one really resonated with me and I decided that I would make it that night. After stopping at the store for eggs (we were out and I couldn’t wait for the farmer’s market this weekend) and ranch dressing, I began making them in a flour/egg/milk setup with my wife’s help. I lightly fried them in hot olive oil and let them drain on paper towels before dabbing the excess off and serving with a TON of ranch.
The recipe was right…they do remind me a lot of fried green tomatoes except they are lighter, fluffier and far sweeter. I actually may like them a little bit more than I do the tomatoes at the State Fair (shh, don’t tell anyone).
So, what do you think of fried cucumbers? Would you be willing to try it or are you in the camp that is against “cooking” cucumbers? Aside from the pretty standard cucumber salad recipe I listed at the top of this post, what other cucumber recipes do you use to get rid of an overabundance of cukes?
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July 29th, 2010 at 8:06 am
This sounds great, we’ll have to give this one a try.
July 29th, 2010 at 8:17 am
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by LazyLightning.org, Ali Halbmaier. Ali Halbmaier said: Looks Good RT @SouthMetroNews: Fried Cucumbers: http://ow.ly/2i6tr [...]
July 29th, 2010 at 8:23 am
i’m totally making this tonight.
July 29th, 2010 at 8:38 am
Sorry,
I’m not a cucumber fan to start with, so I don’t think this would be of interest, however, I do give you props for coming up with different ways of presenting the foods. Guessing the fried negates the health of the veggie, but hey, if you enjoyed it, awesome.. – Even better, you grew it! – We’re still waiting for our corn and spinach to be done..
July 29th, 2010 at 9:42 am
Do you just stir the wine vinegar into the sour cream to thin it and then season with S&P and sugar to taste? This sounds like something I would enjoy.
July 29th, 2010 at 9:44 am
Yup. I generally like to make it a little sweet but it really depends on the cucumbers and my mood.
July 29th, 2010 at 9:59 am
I like to make Cucumber Gazpacho with my extra cukes. I got the reciple from the Q Cumbers restaurant and add some hotter peppers and tabasco.
July 29th, 2010 at 10:27 am
I am in the “no cooking cucumbers” camp, but I’ll probably try this anyhow! Especially if you think it’s a little better than fried green tomatoes!
July 29th, 2010 at 1:22 pm
Frying cucumbers makes the baby Jesus weep.
July 29th, 2010 at 2:23 pm
Cool, I’m going to try that. Ummm, not making the baby Jesus weep, the cucumber salad.
July 29th, 2010 at 4:01 pm
I’m glad you are enjoying your cucumbers but to me they fall into the same category as zucchini: useless vegetables that well-meaning neighbors are always try to push because they’ve planted too many.
July 29th, 2010 at 5:15 pm
My neighbor so far has supplied us with 10 cucumbers and 3 giant zucchinis. I am the only one that will eat the cucumbers. Needless to say, I am very sick of them. My husband came home with two more from a co-worker. I did make some awesome zucchini bars, but I don’t need those in the house tempting me. Maybe I will try the fried cucumbers. I like pickles like that, but not sure of how cucumbers will translate. Can’t wait for the neighbor’s tomatoes though!
July 29th, 2010 at 7:44 pm
Cucumbers are delicious but they must be fresh to maintain their integrity, not fried, that is just wrong (and as previously stated, makes the baby Jesus weep).
July 29th, 2010 at 10:58 pm
I don’t know if it speaks more of your skills as a chef or a photographer, but they do look very appetizing. I tend to think cukes are kind of bland – I can usually only eat them with lots of S&P, vinegar, or dressing. Breading might be perfect for that.
My grandma and her sisters used to do fried zucchini and eggplant from their abundant gardens in VERY large batches, sliced paper thin. We were still wanting more when we thawed and ate the last batch sometime in October.
I’ll have Mrs Marcos’ share if you’re going to make it again.
July 30th, 2010 at 8:24 am
[...] tacos, an old twist on meatloaf, fried cucumbers, and grilled bread with zucchini, goat cheese, and basil. » An Old Twist on Meatloaf and [...]
July 30th, 2010 at 1:23 pm
Here’s a suggestion for those extra cukes: Cucumber Collins. I’ll bet you hadn’t thought of that. I saw it on the Travel Channel today. Really.
August 3rd, 2010 at 10:17 am
You inspired me to make some fried toms & cukes of my own.
August 7th, 2010 at 9:37 am
I definately will try fried cukes, sounds interesting!
Mrs. Marcos, you really don’t know until you try it!
August 7th, 2010 at 12:52 pm
Mo,
I’ve never eaten dog shit, but I can tell you right now, I wouldn’t like it. ;)
August 15th, 2010 at 9:05 am
Mrs. Marcos, I have to agree with you, it was not that good!
I will always give new food items(not dog shit Mrs. Marcos) a try, if don’t like it, cross it off my list. So fried Cuke is crossed out from my list