Cool as a Cucumber

In her book Vegetables from Amaranth to Zucchini, Elizabeth Schneider light-heartedly calls on her readers to engage in the kind of revolution that brought heirloom tomatoes back from oblivion. She exhorts us to ignore the tasteless thick-skinned and wax coated cucumbers commonly available in grocery stores, and to seek out the many flavorful cucumber varieties in farmers' markets instead.

At the local farmers market, it isn't only the cucumbers that will taste better. Much of the produce has better flavor than anything that can be purchased in a grocery store. I'm not just romanticizing here, there really is a difference and it comes from the cultivars that small, local farmers grow.

The agricultural industry breeds new varieties of produce because they are trying to solve commercial problems. Sometimes, they create a new disease resistant cultivar that allows farmers to use fewer pesticides, and that's good for everyone. But sometimes, they work to breed out a "problem" like slow growth and unfortunately at the same time breed out desirable flavor characteristics. These new cultivars are better suited to industrialized production on large farms, yet sacrifice flavor and texture.

Getting back to cucumbers, the problem that needed to be solved was thin skins, which are easily damaged as they are shipped from one part of the country to another. Researchers developed hybrids of the American slicing cucumber with thicker skins, which are better suited to mechanical harvesting and distant shipping. Unfortunately, these cucumbers are short on taste. This bland cucumber is so ubiquitous that it is easy to believe that it is the only type of cucumber out there, when in fact there are many cucumber varieties, each with its own flavor, color, shape and size.

Google "heirloom cucumber" and you will find a whole host of seed purveyors, each with a handful (or two) of heirloom cucumber varieties. Seeds of Change, www.seedsofchange.com sells seeds for eleven different types of cucumbers. Just looking at the photos of the plants brought home for me how boring the selection of produce in a grocery store can be. No wonder we turn away from the vegetable aisle and head toward the processed packaged food when we want to savor a new taste. In light of the dearth of variety available in most produce aisles, Elizabeth Schneider's exhortation seems less light-hearted and more urgent.

Although economically at a disadvantage, smaller farmers don't face the issues of mechanized harvesting and distant distribution of their produce. As a result, these farmers are better suited to produce heirloom varieties of crops, which offer a range of flavors absent from mass-produced fruits and vegetables. If we don't want to lose access to a wide variety of flavors, it is up to us as consumers to support local farmers, especially those who grow and sell heirloom crops. The non-profit organization, Local Harvest, www.localharvest.org works to connect consumers with local farmers. On their website, you can search by zip code for farmers and farmers' markets near your home.

Once you have found a local source for cucumbers, make sure to buy fruits that are unblemished and firm. Store them in the refrigerator, wrapped in plastic to keep them hydrated and separate them from ethylene producing fruits like bananas and tomatoes, which will accelerate their ripening, shortening their shelf life.

Whether slicing or pickling cucumbers, all cucumbers can be eaten fresh. English or hothouse cucumbers, which are becoming increasingly common, are seedless. You may also find Armenian, East Asian or Middle Eastern varieties, which can vary in color and shape dramatically from those that we are used to. There are even lemon cucumbers, which have pale yellow skin, are round and have a mild sweet flavor.

Some cucumbers have smooth skin and some have spiny warts. Smooth skinned varieties don't need to be peeled unless they have been waxed, just wash them as usual. Give warty cucumbers a good scrub with a vegetable brush to get rid of the tiny spines. Mature cucumbers may need to be seeded. As the fruit matures, so do the seeds and they become not only more fibrous but more bitter as well. To seed a cucumber, slice it length-wise and scoop the seeds out with a spoon. Keep in mind that when you seed a cucumber, you are throwing away valuable fiber so don't do it automatically, make the decision based on how you will be using it.

Cucumbers are most frequently eaten raw, but they are also delicious cooked. They are members of the squash family and when cooked, are very similar to green zucchini. Whether cooked or raw, locally grown cucumbers will add enticing new flavors to your summer meals.

Chef Ariane Duarte, whose love for cooking began as she watched her grandmother cook family dinners, contributed the following recipes. A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in NY, she held positions at the Highlawn Pavilion in NJ, The Terrace in New York City, and Star Canyon in Dallas. In Dallas, she met her future husband, with whom she moved to Chicago to cook in his family restaurant. While in Chicago she worked at the three-star, Japanese-French influenced restaurant Trio as well as working as a cookbook assistant for Charlie Trotter. She is currently the Executive Chef at Vine in New York City. Ariane and her husband Michael also operate culinARIANE caterers in Verona, New Jersey. They can be contacted at 973-571-9333.

Sashimi Tuna with Pickled Cucumber
Serves 4-6 as an hors d?oeuvres

Ingredients
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 scallion, thinly sliced
1-1/2 pounds sashimi tuna, cut into a small dice
1 seedless cucumber, thinly sliced
1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

wonton wrappers, as many as needed
vegetable oil for frying

Method
Combine the soy sauce, sesame oil and scallion in a bowl, add the diced tuna and allow it to marinate for 15 minutes. Combine the vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper in a bowl, toss with the cucumber. Cut the wonton wrappers diagonally and fry in vegetable oil until crispy, drain on paper towels. When the wrappers are cool, top with a spoonful of the tuna mixture and garnish with the pickled cucumber.

Summer Cucumber and Plum Tomato Salad
Serves 6

Ingredients
2 large cucumbers, peeled and thickly sliced
8 ripe plum tomatoes, quartered
1 red onion, julienned
2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Method
Whisk together vinegar and olive oil, toss over vegetables. Taste and adjust seasonings. This salad will hold nicely for up to two hours before serving.

Cucumber and Snow Pea Sauté
Serves 4
This dish features cooked cucumbers and is delicious when served over broiled fish. (Check out The Green Guide's best fish picks before choosing which type of fish to serve.)

Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 large cucumbers, peeled and sliced
1 red onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, sliced
1/2 pound snow peas, cleaned
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
4 fish fillets

Method
Season the fish fillets with salt and pepper and broil until cooked through. While the fish is cooking, heat the olive oil in a large saut? pan, add the garlic and onion and saut? for 4 minutes. Add the cucumber and snow peas and saut? for 3 minutes. The cucumbers will be slightly soft but not cooked through. Add the dill and season to taste with salt and pepper. Spoon the vegetables over the fish and serve.