We’re sharing a few ideas on how to turn healthy seasonal ingredients into interesting and tasty dishes.
Cold Stuffed Cucumbers
You’ll need:
1 cup canned tuna (drained) – about 8.8 oz / 250 g
2 cucumbers
2 small yellow onions
2 cloves garlic
Juice of 1 lemon
3.5 oz fresh cheese or cream cheese – about ½ cup / 100 g
3 tablespoons white wine
Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions:
- Wash the cucumbers and peel them in lengthwise stripes, so they look like zebras.
- Slice them into equal pieces and scoop out the center with a small spoon. Place in a colander to drain for about 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, drain the tuna and mash it with a fork.
- Peel and finely chop the onions and garlic, then mix them with the tuna.
- Add the fresh cheese and blend everything with an immersion blender or food processor until smooth.
- Add lemon juice, white wine, and stir well again. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Place the drained cucumber cups on a serving platter and fill them with the prepared mixture.
- Cover with foil and chill well before serving.
Summer Cucumber Soup
Ingredients:
5 large cucumbers + 1 small cucumber
2–3 cloves of garlic
7 tablespoons sour cream (about 3.4 fl oz)
2 cups vegetable broth
Salt and black pepper to taste
9 oz pasta (about 2 ½ cups uncooked)
Fresh herbs (such as dill or parsley), to taste
Instructions:
Peel the 5 large cucumbers, slice them in half, and remove the seeds if they’re large. Grate them using a coarse grater, like you would apples. Peel and dice the 1 small cucumber into small cubes and set it aside for serving.
In a bit of olive oil, sauté 2 to 3 finely chopped or crushed garlic cloves until fragrant, but not browned. Add the grated cucumbers to the pan, season lightly with salt and pepper, and cook gently for a few minutes so they release aroma and soften slightly.
Add some finely chopped fresh herbs if desired, then pour in 2 cups of vegetable broth. Let it simmer briefly; long cooking is not necessary. Just before finishing, stir in about 7 tablespoons of sour cream. Blend everything into a smooth, creamy mixture using an immersion blender or regular blender.
If the soup is too thin, you can thicken it with a little cornstarch dissolved in water. If it’s too thick, thin it with a bit of water or extra broth. Adjust the salt and pepper to taste.
At the end, stir in the small diced cucumber you saved earlier. Serve the soup as it is, or pour it over cooked pasta (about 9 ounces), topped with some freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
Summer Carpaccio
Ingredients:
10.5 oz cucumber (about 1 large cucumber)
10.5 oz smoked salmon
7 oz green leaf lettuce (about 6 cups loosely packed)
1.5 oz capers (about 3 tablespoons)
1.5 oz bell pepper (about ¼ cup, thinly sliced)
1 small red onion, thinly sliced (added ingredient)
Balsamic vinegar
Olive oil
Salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions:
Peel the cucumber in stripes (peeling every other strip for a striped look), then slice it into very thin rounds. On a serving plate, arrange the green lettuce leaves as a base. Place the cucumber slices evenly over the lettuce.
On top, layer thin slices of smoked salmon, then add rings of bell pepper, capers, and a few red onion slices.
Drizzle everything with balsamic vinegar and a bit of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Chill well before serving.
Serve with toasted crusty bread.
