Lebanese Cucumbers

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I was looking in the supermarket today, and the baby cucumbers are definitely Lebanese cucumbers. Our shop has all the modern foods now and they are very delicious. I found this salad last night, we do have another recipe for them, can't remember it just at the moment. I am not keen on avocado but like the avocado dressing we buy.

Our first experience I think with baby cucumbers was with nori rolls or sushi, that Violet helped me with.


"Qukes® Baby Lebanese Cucumber & Prosciutto Salad

This dish is a great combination of smoky meat and a clean, cool vegetable.

Serves 4 as a side dish.
Prep Time: 10 Minutes.
Cooking Time: 12 Minutes.


Ingredients

12 thin slices prosciutto
1 x 250g punnet Qukes® baby Lebanese cucumbers, washed
1 avocado, quartered, peeled, sliced
100g fetta, crumbled
75 bean sprouts, trimmed
1/3 cup olive oil
1 1/2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp dijon mustard
1/2 tsp caster sugar
1/3 cup chopped dill
salt & ground black pepper


Cooking Instructions

Heat a frying pan over medium-high heat. Add half the prosciutto and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side or until golden. Remove to a plate. Repeat with remaining prosciutto. Allow to cool and break into pieces.
Thinly slice the Qukes® into rounds and place into a bowl. Add the avocado, fetta, bean sprouts and prosciutto and toss gently.
Combine the oil, vinegar, mustard, sugar, dill and salt and pepper in a *****-top jar. Shake well to combine.
Pour the dressing over the salad. Toss and serve immediately."

From: asp31.toadshow.com.au/01_cms/details.asp?ID=369

I love proscuitto so will try it and we love feta.

I think the other salad is made from sundried tomatoes and arugula.

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This is really delicious, you couldn't not like these cucumbers after eating this.

Brown Rice, Tuna & Cucumber Nori Rolls

265g brown rice
2 tabs rice vinegar
1 tab caster sugar/superfine sugar
1 teaspoon salt
185g can tuna in spring water, drained
1 tablespoon low-fat mayonnaise
1/4 teaspoon wasabi paste
3 tablespoons white vinegar (1tab is 20ml)
4 nori sheets
1 lebanese cucumber, cut into 5cm long batons
1/2 red capsicum or bell pepper cut into 5cm long batons
pickled ginger to serve
soy sauce to serve.

Bring the rice and 3 1/2 cups metric cold water to the boil in a large saucepan over high heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 25 minutes or until all the water is absorbed. Remove from the heat, cover and set aside for 10 minutes to steam.

Stir the rice vinegar, sugar and salt in a small bowl until the sugar dissolves. Add to the rice and stir until well combined. Cover a large baking tray with foil. Spread the rice over the tray, then set aside until cooled completely.

Combine the tuna, mayonnaise and wasabi in a small bowl. Set aside.

Place the white vinegar and 250ml (1cup) water in a bowl. Place one nori sheet, shiny-side down, on a bamboo mat or sheet of greaseproof paper, with the long side of the nori closet to you. Dip your fingers in the vinegar water and use them ot evenly spread a quarter of the rice over the two thirds of the nori sheet closet to you, leaving a small border around the edges.

Spread 2 tablespoon of the tuna mixture along the centre of the rice. Top with the cucumber and capsicum. Lift the end of the mat or paper closet to you and roll it over the ingredients to enclose them. Continue rolling to make a complete roll. Repeat to make three more rolls. Wrap each nori roll tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Cut the rolls in half or slice them, and serve with pickled ginger and soy suace.

From: Family Circle June 2005? Australian

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Kyuri-No-Sunomono and Sanbai-zu (Cucumber Salad with Vinegar Sauce)

This is traditionally served as a side dish in small quantities, as a palate cleanser. The sanbai-zu can be prepared in advance.

Ingredients

Sanbai-zu (Vinegar sauce)

125 mL Japanese rice vinegar
2½ tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon mirin*
1 pinch salt
Few drops soy sauce
Thumb-sized piece fresh ginger, sliced finely

Kyuri-No-Sunomono (Cucumber salad)

3 Lebanese cucumbers or 2 continental cucumbers, very finely sliced
Salted water
2 tablespoons wakame*
1 cup boiled shirasu* (if you don’t like the fishy smell, use tinned crab, or boiled squid or boiled prawns)

*Mirin is sweet cooking sake; wakame is processed seaweed; and shirasu are baby sardines. All are available from Japanese grocers.

Method

To make the sauce: combine all the ingredients in a jar and shake well until the sugar has dissolved. Set aside.

To make the salad: soak the cucumber slices in the salted water for a few minutes, then squeeze dry and put in a bowl.

Soak the wakame in boiling water, leaving it until it is cool, then remove, squeeze dry and add to the cucumber.

Add the shirasu, or the crab or the squid or prawns, which have been finely sliced.

Pour over the sanbai-zu and mix through.

From: www.abc.net.au/secretrecipes/families/japan2.htm

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www.taste.com.au/recipes/13821/indian+cauliflower+fritters+with+cucumber+raita

www.taste.com.au/recipes/18342/garam+masala+omelette