Cooked Cucumbers?

I've been recording Laura Calder's French Food at Home episodes and today's caught my eye. Cooked cucumbers? Never heard of cooking them.

Sautéed Cucumber with Dill
1 English cucumber
spoonful of olive oil
s & p
chopped fresh mint or dill
Peel, halve lengthwise and seed the cuke.
cut into chunks, the size of large croûtons or slice into thin half moons. Sauté until hot and softened to your liking, about 5 min. depending on size. Season with s & p toss in the mint. Serve warm or at room temp.

She says the way you decide to cut them is up to you, and depends on what you are serving them with.

There is also a Glazed radishes "Château du Fey" recipe with the same episode. they are cooked in butter and sugar cubes. I saw black radishes at Farmer's Market last week,......

I first saw a recipe for cooked cucumbers in one of Alice Waters' books. She did them with butter and lemon at the end. Delicious, but for whatever reason I don't do it very often and generally make quick pickles with my cucumbers.

It's been a long time but this prompted my memory. I used to make an Asian recipe for sausage-stuffed cucumbers.

Vertical sections were scooped out to form cups, filled with a sausage mixture and steamed. Must find that again.

A friend does thin longitudinal slices of cucumber on the grill which are a tasty addition to the outdoor dining staples.

[Jenise]

Sautéed cucumbers are indeed delicious. If you're using an English type cucumber, you can forego seeding and peeling--your option. Just sautéed some last week with mint to serve underneath some lamb-and-bulgur-wheat stuffed collard green rolls braised in a tomato-bread broth. Wonderful!