Dalia's Kitchen: cucumber

Quick Cucumber Salad

Image by Chris Mejorada for ITP Publishing

It's that time of the year where everyone is running to finish up things before the holidays start.. You can feel the rush everywhere in everyone! I'm running going from last minute meetings to Christmas shopping, to making sure we have everything sorted out before we head to Beirut for the holidays. That's it, the year is almost over and we need to pack up and say goodbye to 2011! As much as I love welcoming a new year, I always get a little sad when the year ends.. Emotional, thoughtful and all that cheezy stuff I tend to get into.. Anyways, let's hope that 2012 is a good one for all of us.. InshAllah!

As there's no time for elaborate cooking these past few days, I'm just going to post my quick, simple but delish cucumber salad which goes beautifully well with the Butter Chicken posted a couple of days ago, or as a side to any dish really. A D's Kitchen express recipe for tonight!

Serves 6 – 8

Prep & Cook Time: ~ 5 minutes

6 large cucumbers, thinly sliced
¼ cup rice vinegar
½ tsp salt
½ tsp sugar
2 tbsp fresh mint, chopped

In a bowl, toss the cucumbers, vinegar, salt, sugar, and mint. Place in the fridge to marinate and cool for at least 30 minutes and serve cold.

(As featured in BBC Good Food ME October 2011)

D's Panzanella Salad

It's summer time and I'm getting ready to go on holiday :) But before going on a beautiful foodie road trip of a lifetime, I was busy cooking in the kitchen this whole past week.. From food shoots to cooking classes, this was a hectic but delish week to say the least!

I made this beautiful Panzanella salad as a starter for the first official "D's Kitchen Cooking Class", and thanks to my lovelies Rasha, Cynth, Pamela, Tamima and Dana for being my first students :) But enough babbling, let's get to the food.. This salad is gorgeous, the crunchy bread becomes a little soggy absorbing all the juices of the veggies, garlic, lemon and all other yummy bits.. Divine!

Prep & Cook Time: ~45 minutes (including resting time)

Serves 2

½ loaf country bread, cut in small chunks
2 garlic cloves, crushed
½ tsp oregano
12 cherry tomatoes, cut in halves
1/2 bell pepper, cut in small chunks
½ red onion, finely chopped
1 cucumber, peeled and deseeded, cut in small hcunks
1 tsp capers, roughly chopped
1 tsp olives, roughly chopped
basil leaves, roughly chopped
¼ cup olive oil
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp sugar
salt and cracked pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 180C. Place the bread in a baking tray, add the garlic, oregano, then drizzle with a generous amount of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Toss everything well and brown in the oven for about 10 minutes, until golden and crispy.

In a bowl, mix all the remaining ingredients, add the bread and toss everything until well coated. Set aside for 30 minutes to let the flavors infuse. Enjoy!

Fresh Cucumber Spinach & Yoghurt Soup

It's Ramadan, and everyone loves soups during this Holy Month.. This is an easy and original little soup, perfect to break your fast with..

When I used to live in New York and we were in the mood for something ueber fancy, we went to Daniel's (Daniel Boulud's restaurant).. It's just a phenomenal restaurant and the soup I made this evening is inspired by one of his dishes.. It tastes absolutely divine hot and cold.. Plus it's light & fresh and ideal for Dubai's August heat..

Serves 4

3 large cucumbers, peeled and chopped (reserve the skin for later)
2 large potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
1 pot yoghurt
1 pack spinach (about 150g)
1 chopped leek
1/2 tsp nutmeg
boiling water
1 tsp of chicken stock granules (or half a cube)
olive oil
salt and cracked pepper to taste

In a pot, heat a little olive oil and once it smokes add the leeks.. Cook them for a few minutes, then add half the cucumber flesh and the potatoes.. Sautee everything just for a few minutes, then pour just enough boiling water to cover it all, add the chicken stock granules and salt & pepper to taste.. Simmer for about 20 minutes or until the potatoes are done, add the spinach leaves just for a few minutes, and let it cool.. Then use a hand blender to puree everything and set it aside..

In a bowl, blend the remaining cucumber flesh, the skin and the yoghurt.. Combine the cooked puree and the yoghurt mixture, and if you wish, pass it through a strainer to make the soup extra smooth..

You can serve the soup hot or cold and add croutons or a squeeze of lemon to enhance.. Enjoy :)

Older Posts

Quick Cucumber Salad

D's Panzanella Salad

Fresh Cucumber Spinach & Yoghurt Soup

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