CUCUMBERS

New Zealand Listener, Volume 12, Issue 296, 23 February 1945, Page 13

CUCUMBERS

freshly picked as possible. They are seldom indigestible if eaten at once, with bread and butter, and without any vinegar. Another way to eat cucumber, without fear of indigestion, it is said, is this-peel, then score the sides, and slice up finely. Put into a bowl and pour over a few spoonfuls of good top milk. Do this in the morning, and leave it all day, turning it over occasionally with a silver fork. It will be delightful at the evening meal. ( y should be eaten as Cucumber Salad (Pte. Malcolm in Italy) Cut medium. sized cucumbers lengthways, scoop out the inside, mix with Italian dressing, bits of tomato and a couple of small onions sliced. Return to shells, and serve on lettuce leaves, To make the Italian dressing, measure out 3 parts of oil to 1 part of vinegar. Drop the oil slowly into the vinegar, beating well. Add salt and pepper to taste. If you like the flavour of onion, a few drops of onion juice can be used. As a Vegetable Cucumbers may be peeled thinly and aooked whole in boiling salted water, then served like vegetable marrow, with good white sauce or melted butter. Stuffed Cucumbers Cut the cucumbers lengthwise, remove seeds and partly cook in boiling water. Make a tasty forcemeat with breadcrumbs, chopped parsley, grated onion, or chopped. chives, a dish of chopped mint, pepper and salt to taste, and bind with an egg. Fill the cucumbers with this, shaping it quite high, and put them into baking dish. Pour a white sauce over, sprinkle with paprika and bake for about ¥2 hour. You may ring the changes with the stuffing, and include bits of fish or tomato. Or you may bake the cucumbers without the sauce. just putting dabs of butter on the top of each. Cucumber Stuffing (For Fish) This is an American recipe. Simmer 3 .tablespoons of minced onion in 6 tablespoons of butter (or very good unflavoured shortening) until transparent. Prepare 4 cupfuls of day-old bread,. cut into very small cubes (no crust), and mix these with 1 teaspoon of crushed dry sage leaves, 3% teaspoon each of salt and pepper, then add a large cupful of peeled and diced cucumber, 4 tablespoons of water together with the onions and butter. Mix all thoroughly with a fork; cover and leave to stand for 10 minutes. Will stuff a 41b. fish. Cucumber Dressing (Fer Fish Salads) Combine two-thirds cup of good mayonnaise with a small cucumber which has been pared, chopped and drained. Creamed Cucumber Cook 6 cups of pared, diced cucumber in one inch of boiling salted water for 15 minutes. Drain. Combine with 114

cups of white sauce (not too thick), to which a speck of mace has been added. Serves six. Cucumber Fingers (To serve as hors d’oeuvres with fruit juice or cocktail) Peel a narrow cucumber and cut lengthwise in half. Remove seeds and cut the solid portion into narrow strips about 3 inches long. Place on a’ plate, cover with a damp cloth, and chill for an hour before serving. Cucumber Slices (Another hors d’oeuvre) If the skin is tender, leave it onit adds a garnish touch. If not, peel, and then run a sharp, four-pronged fork down it lengthwise, thus scoring it. Cut into very thin slices, chill, and then drain and sprinkle lightly with chopped parsley.