Tuesday, September 22, 2009

A Sinful Dish: Baked Cucumbers with Creamed Mushrooms

It's confession time.
I'm late to the game on something I promised you. And I hope you'll forgive me.

We got quite a number of requests for the baked cucumber recipe after we completed our Julie/Julia Challenge in August. Unfortunately, I hadn't taken many photos of the dish the first time we made it, so I didn't really have anything worthy of a blog post. Since the dish was so delicious, and we had fresh cucumbers in the garden, I figured we'd simply give it another try.
Well, guess what? I forgot all about my promise.
Fortunately, as of last week, we still had cucumbers in the garden. I also happened to have a pint of fresh cream on hand. I was roasting a chicken for dinner, and I figured the baked cucumbers would be the perfect side dish. Since there were only the two of us, I cut the recipe back by a bit and used only two cucumbers (I'm recording my halved recipe here; the recipe can be doubled). On the up side, that means the full dish is worth quite a few less calories. On the downside, it still ends up to be pretty sinful. And, if you're anything like me, you'll compound the problem with sins of omission and revision.

Sin #1: Technically, the recipe calls for English cucumbers, but I believe firmly in using what's on hand, so we settled for your typical garden variety cucs. I also took some other liberties with the recipe (which I'll divulge). Sacrilige? Maybe -- but it's the nature of my cooking beast. I can't seem to follow a recipe to save my life.

First -- you'll need two cucumbers. The original recipe called for six. That'a alotta cucumbers.

Julia Child's recipe requires peeled cucumbers.
Sin #2: If disobeying the recipe early on makes my sin even greater, I'll take the stripes for it. The truth is, I very seldom peel anything. But, I wasn't a complete heretic: I met her halfway on this one. I do think that peeled cucumbers tend to drain more efficiently -- and they also make for a more tender bite overall. But, I think the bit of peel left on the cucumbers adds a pleasant bit of color. And I really don't think it impacts the finished product in a negative way.
I did manage to follow some of the instructions. I de-seeded the cucumbers with a spoon, and then proceeded to cut them up into 3/8 inch thick matchsticks.
Of course, shortly thereafter sin #3 ensued. The recipe calls for green onions. I didn't have any on hand, so I substituted 1/4 cup thinly sliced red onions (and added them a step earlier). I realize the flavor isn't quite the same (and 1/4 cup is quite a bit more onion flavor than the original recipe calls for); but, I promise you it wasn't a disaster. And again -- a splash of color never hurts.
I salted the cucumbers and onions with just over 1/2 tsp of salt, sprinkled them with 1 tablespoon of white wine vinegar and 1/16 tsp sugar, and left them to drain for about an hour or so in a colander. When the time was up, I painstakingly dried them on paper towels.

Sin #4: Yeah, I was bad to the environment. Paper towels do a great job, but I should have used one of my white flour sack towels. Ah, well, you live and learn.
Sin #5: Sheer laziness.
Rather than melting my butter the old fashioned way, I decided to cheat a bit. I put two pats of butter (about 1 1/2 T) into my glass baking dish and placed it into the oven as it preheated to 375ºF.
By the time the oven was preheated... voila! I had my melted butter. I'd like to think that Julia would be proud of my resourcefulness. But, one never really knows.
I tossed the dried cucumbers in the butter and then added about a tablespoon of freshly chopped basil to the mix. Julia calls for 1/2 tsp of basil (or dill) for her entire recipe. Since I wouldn't consider overseasoning anything with basil to be a sin, I'm not counting this among my transgressions.

I placed the baking dish in the preheated oven, and let it go for about an hour, tossing the cucumbers a couple of times during the baking process -- just like the recipe said. See! I'm really a very good girl at heart!
Meanwhile, I gently sauteed about 6 oz of mushrooms in a dry skillet. I did it for a skoche longer than Julia said I should, but I'm not sure that really mattered a whole lot. After all, caramelization is flavor, right?

When the mushrooms were sufficiently cooked (by my standards) I added a mixture of 1/2 cup whipping cream and 1/2 tsp cornstarch (which I mixed first with 1/2 tsp of water). I let it come to a bubble, and then simmered it for about 5 minutes, until it was perfectly thickened.
When the cucumbers came out of the oven, I folded the creamed mushrooms into the cucumbers. And that was that!
I can't say this is the most attractive dish I've ever made. But, it's definitely got things going for it in the flavor department. Both the cucumbers and mushrooms are quite concentrated in their flavor -- and they really complement one another. The cucumbers have, somehow, remained crisp while the onions have wilted and begun to break down. Everything is accented nicely by the suggestion of white wine vinegar, which also serves to cut the richness of the cream. And, of course, there's the basil... which really makes almost anything better.

We were surprised by the dish the first time. And equally pleased with it on the second (and significanly revised) go-round. It made a great side dish for chicken -- and I could also see it performing nicely alongside a roast or some wine braised tempeh.

Enjoy!

Creative Commons License
©BURP! Where Food Happens

14 comments:

  1. Baked cucumbers???!! I have never tried such a thing....interesting.

    I know what you mean...I can't follow a recipe either. Cooking is art, right?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Who would have thought of baking cucumbers? That's a new one for me. I'm very interested in seeing how this tastes.

    We all have to make the changes and substitutions where we can. I would have put the butter in the microwave. ;-) Anyway, you can say this recipe is truly your own with the adjustments you made.

    Don't feel too guilty about the paper towels. I try not to use them, but sometimes nothing else will do.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Baking cukes would never occur to us, so it's always fun to see what new things people pull out in the blogosphere! We would normally go with zukes, but why not try a new veggie.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I've seen this recipe but never made it. What a new way to use cucumbers. I love the result.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I am now really curious about the taste of the baked cucumbers, must try it really soon!

    ReplyDelete
  6. It does sound simply wonderful. I love all of your "recipe sins". I fully agree skin on and extra basil. You rocked this recipe!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Huh. New one for me, too on the baking cucs front. I like it! And I've actually had quite a few people asking me lately for ideas on what to do with an excess of cucumbers. I will forward them this way.

    I always seem to peel my cucumbers and zucchini for some reason. Although, I'm certain all the nutrition is in the skin.

    ReplyDelete
  8. This is what I love about blogging. Had I seen this recipe in a book, I would have passed it over. But seeing it here, and learning more about it, I now want it. I rarely have cucumbers cooked, so I'm really intrigued. YUM!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Thanks so much for taking the time to visit my blog. It is a pleasure to discover yours and I look forward to exploring and visiting again.
    I know what you mean by not following a recipe. I never do. It's the first time I've heard of baked cucumbers. Must definitely try it.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Thanks so much for stopping by my blog! It looks like you've got some great things going on here. I really like your writing style.

    I have never really been a fan of raw cucumbers but I bet I would really like them baked. I will have to try this.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Baked cucumbers is something I never thought about. Still don't think I'll try it.
    As for the cooking beast, yeah... but also Julia's recipes are older and ... times have changed... and... you know...

    ReplyDelete
  12. I have never had cooked cukes. But I like that you switched the recipe up to use what is on hand. This is very good!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Baked cucumber. Huh. I think this is one of those times where you just have to squeeze your eyes shut and wait for the first tasty mouthful.

    Also? I LOVE your glass baking pan.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I just made this, and it's delicious. Thank you!
    One suggestion: Please put a concise recipe (ingredient list and method) under the blog post with the pictures.
    I found it annoying to have to scroll past all of the comments and pics while making the recipe.
    Just my suggestion. I think this would make your site a lot more user-friendly.
    Much respect.

    ReplyDelete

We're thrilled that you came to visit us here at BURP! Thanks so much for taking the time to write. We're not always able to respond to every comment, but we'll make every effort to answer questions in a timely fashion. We especially enjoy reading about what's going on in your own creative kitchens. So, don't be shy!

And thanks for stopping by!

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.