Friday, July 6, 2012

Crunchy Ginger Pickled Cucumbers

We were liking this recipe before we even tasted it - it is one of the easiest in recent memory, and perfect for these hot summer days..........


Per Nana~ 
If you love cucumbers, you will love this week's recipe.
Unfortunately, I have difficulty eating any cucumber, 
but since Hubby loves them, I went ahead with the recipe.
I purchased an English cucumber while at BJ's warehouse
 store  and since I had never used one
before, I was anxious to see what they were like.
Just to be on the safe side, I only prepared half the recipe.
I cut chunks as Dorie suggested and salted them for about
 30 minutes. I mixed the vinegar with the other ingredients before
 pouring it onto the cucumber.  I did not use fresh ginger simply because 
I would not have any further use for it, so I substituted ground ginger. 
 I'm not familiar with the fresh ginger and I don't know if it would have 
made a difference, but this worked for me.

I chilled the pickles overnight and served them as a  side with pork 
chops and eggplant slices topped with mozzarella cheese and
 tomato sauce.  Not quite eggplant parmigiana, but tasty just the same.
I did try one small chunk of the pickle and thought the flavor was terrific.
Hubby says this one's a keeper.
Per Tricia~
My hubby and kids love cucumbers and we have been
 enjoying cut up slices all summer with dips and hummus.  
But never with ginger and hot pepper flakes. :)
 Leave it to Dorie to take something ordinary and turn it into an adventure.   
This recipe was a cinch, especially since I substituted ground ginger from 
my cabinet for the fresh.  I am certain the dish would be even more delicious 
with the "real thing" but we enjoyed the subtle flavor nonetheless.
 I did reduce the ginger amount by about half since I used the
 ground dry version.   My younger son had a couple of friends sleeping 
over and they got a kick out of trying the "French Friday Food".  
They both gave the recipe a thumbs up and proclaimed that they were
 "better than plain".  Too  funny.

Overall, this combo was a nice change and since we keep all 
the ingredients on hand, this may get a repeat performance during
 these very hot summer days.

7 comments:

  1. Both dishes look great!

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  2. It sounds like a double hit? Yeah!
    I was so glad this was an easy one - between just coming back from vacation, being sick and having a graduation party this weekend - I don't know how complicated would have ever happened...
    Enjoy your weekend & stay cool,

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  3. I was very grateful for an easy one this week. And though I am not a huge cucumber fan, my husband enjoyed this one and asked if we could make it again. As for the ginger, I almost wonder if ground ginger would have been a better choice. I used fresh and, while the salad was good the first day, it got progressively spicier as the days went by.

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  4. Nana and Tricia, You are so right…this recipe was perfect for these extremely hot days of summer! I really enjoyed them, but not so much my husband! Both of your dishes look great…I agree with the boys…better than plain!!

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  5. Tricia you're right, Dorie turned something ordinary into an adventure! And it was nice to have such an easy recipe this week. Its so hot here in Oklahoma that its hard to get motivated to cook anything! Nana and Tricia have a good week. See you on Friday:)

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  6. I used powdered ginger too. I'm all for a simple and cool recipe in the middle of Summer!

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  7. I am so sorry that cucumbers don't agree with you Nana because this is just a simple and delicious sidedish. I loved it as much as your hubby and Tricia and her family did.

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