Five weeknight dinners that are cool as a cucumber

For much of my life, I thought I didn’t like cucumbers. I liked sour pickles and Sichuan-style smashed cucumbers, but in most other settings – especially bad renditions of Greek salad – cucumbers struck me as watery, slippery filler, the honeydew of the savoury salad world (I stand by my dislike of honeydew). Why would you dunk a cucumber spear in dip when you could choose a carrot? Or a radish? Why?

But now I know the truth, which is that the cucumber is one of nature’s great coolants, a foil for both hot weather and chilli heat. The best dishes that use it foreground its juicy crunch. And a heap of cucumbers, lightly dressed or quickly pickled, is a fast, single-subject salad that works with many meals (it helps if you use Persian or English cucumbers, which are thinner-skinned and don’t have the big goopy seeds you find in standard garden cucumbers).

There are two new cucumbery recipes below, and a lot more of them coming throughout the summer. Because I know there are people who have not yet gone down the cucumber path – and I understand why – there are other recipes for the week, too.

Crispy cucumber and creamy avocado perform a delicate dance with earthy notes of sesame in this most simple of salads. Thin-skinned varieties such as Persian or English cucumbers work best, as they are almost seedless with a robust flesh that stays crisp. But don’t worry if you only have access to seedy cucumbers: peel them if their skins are thick, then cut them in half lengthwise and scrape out the seeds before slicing. No-cook and ready in a matter of minutes, this elegant salad can be dressed up according to your mood. It is a satisfying meal on its own, but it can also be served alongside cold soba, or with brown rice and a fried or jammy egg on top.

By: Hetty McKinnon

Serves: 4

Total time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

For the sesame dressing:

2 tbsp toasted sesame oil

2 tbsp rice vinegar

1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds

1 tbsp sugar

1½ tsp soy sauce or tamari

½ tsp red-pepper flakes

For the salad:

2 ripe avocados

450g cucumbers (such as Persian or English), trimmed and thinly sliced

2 green, red or purple spring onions, trimmed and thinly sliced

Salt and black pepper

Toasted sesame seeds, for topping

Method:

1. Make the dressing: place the sesame oil, rice vinegar, sesame seeds, sugar, soy sauce and red-pepper flakes into a small bowl. Add 1 tablespoon of water and whisk until emulsified. Taste, and adjust seasonings (dressing should taste acidic, a little sweet and salty).

2. When you’re ready to eat, prepare the salad: halve the avocados and discard the pits. Using a small paring knife, carefully score the avocado flesh into 1½cm cubes, avoiding cutting through the skin. Use a large spoon to scoop out the avocado flesh (in one spoonful, if possible), as close to the skin as possible. Transfer avocado cubes to a large bowl and add the dressing; toss gently.

3. Add the cucumbers and spring onions and toss everything together. Season with salt and black pepper, top with more sesame seeds, and serve immediately.

open image in gallery

This meal has the flavours of a Greek combination plate with chicken souvlaki, Greek salad and tzatziki, but it is streamlined for the home cook. Boneless chicken thighs are coated with herby, garlicky yoghurt, then seared until tender inside and crusty and browned outside. Extra yoghurt dresses cucumbers and tomatoes that have had a chance to drain with salt so they taste their most vivid. Feta and olives add briny bites to the creamy, crunchy salad, but feel free to incorporate other elements of Greek salad or tzatziki, like romaine lettuce, bell peppers, mint or dill, toasted walnuts or thinly sliced red onion. Eat with lemon potatoes or toasted pita.

By: Ali Slagle

Serves: 4

Total time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

370g plain Greek yoghurt

3 garlic cloves, finely grated

Salt

Black pepper

1 tsp dried oregano or mint

900g boneless, skinless chicken thighs, patted dry

680g cucumbers (preferably Japanese, Persian or mini, seedless cucumbers)

450g ripe tomatoes

2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus more as needed

115g feta, crumbled

90g Kalamata olives, pitted and halved

Method:

1. In a large bowl, stir together the yoghurt and garlic; season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer ⅓ of the yoghurt to a medium bowl and reserve for Step 5.

2. Coat the chicken: to the large bowl, add the oregano and stir to combine. Season the chicken all over with 1½ teaspoons salt and a few grinds of pepper. Add the chicken to the large bowl and turn to coat; set aside.

3. Start the salad: smash the cucumbers with the side of your knife until craggy and split. Rip into 1½-2½cm pieces and transfer to a colander placed in the sink. Slice or chop the tomatoes into bite-size pieces. Add to the cucumbers along with 1½ teaspoons salt (it may seem like a lot of salt, but most will drain away). Toss to combine and leave to drain.

4. In a large nonstick or well-seasoned cast-iron frying pan, heat the olive oil over medium. Scrape excess marinade off the chicken, then cook the chicken in batches, adding oil to the pan if necessary, until it’s well browned and releases from the pan, 5 to 7 minutes. Flip and cook until cooked through, another 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to plates to rest (for grilling info, see tip below).

5. To the medium bowl of yoghurt, add the feta and mash with a fork until a chunky paste forms. Shake the cucumbers and tomatoes to get rid of any excess moisture. Add to the feta yoghurt along with the olives and stir until coated. The balance is dependent on your produce and feta, so season to taste with salt and pepper until flavours are vivid. Eat alongside the chicken.

Tip: To grill the chicken, heat a grill to medium and clean and grease the grates. Grill the chicken over direct heat until it’s well browned and releases from the grates, 5 to 7 minutes. Flip and cook until cooked through, another 5 to 7 minutes (for a gas grill, close the lid between flips).

Seared cubes of halloumi get melty and soft on their insides and dark brown and a little crisp on the surface, making it almost impossible not to devour them all as they come out of the pan. But try to resist, because they’re even better tossed with a quick sauté of sweetcorn and tomatoes, seasoned with basil. Slivers of red onions, folded in raw at the end, add crunch and sweetness, while a squeeze of fresh lime makes everything tangy and fresh. Although this dish is at its most sublime made with fresh summer sweetcorn and ripe tomatoes, it’s nearly as good in winter made with frozen corn. Serve it for a light, meatless dinner or a substantial side dish with roasted or grilled chicken or fish.

By: Melissa Clark

Serves: 2 to 3

Total time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, more as needed

340-400g halloumi cheese, diced into 2½cm cubes and patted dry

250g sweetcorn kernels, fresh or frozen and thawed

300g halved cherry tomatoes

1 jalapeño, seeded or not, thinly sliced

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp salt, plus more to taste

115g thinly sliced red onion

Handful chopped fresh basil, more as garnish

1 lime, cut into wedges

Black pepper

Method:

1. In a large, preferably nonstick frying pan, heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium-high until it thins out, about 20 seconds. Working in batches, add cheese in one layer, and cook until golden on one side, 1 to 2 minutes. Flip cheese and cook without moving until golden on the other side, about 1 minute longer. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate and repeat with remaining cheese.

2. Add remaining 2 tablespoons oil to the pan and heat it over medium-high. Add sweetcorn, tomatoes, jalapeño, cumin seeds and salt, and cook until sweetcorn and tomatoes have softened and everything looks juicy, about 5 to 10 minutes.

3. Remove pan from the heat and stir in the browned cheese, sliced onion and basil. Squeeze a lime wedge or two over everything and season with more salt and lots of black pepper. Garnish with more basil and serve immediately.

open image in gallery

Celery, an underappreciated vegetable relegated to making stocks and mirepoix, rarely gets the attention it deserves. It’s available in the supermarket year-round. Come late summer, it starts popping up in farmers’ markets everywhere, and it deserves to shine. In this dish, its pleasantly bitter leaves are used in a unique take on gremolata, a fresh herb condiment traditionally made with Italian parsley (which you can also use here). Snappy green beans, also readily available in late summer, round out this unassuming, but impressive pasta you’ll want to make again and again no matter what the season.

By: Colu Henry

Serves: 4 to 6

Total time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

For the gremolata:

40g sliced almonds

Handful finely chopped celery leaves or parsley leaves

1 tbsp lemon zest (from 1 medium lemon), plus more for serving

1 garlic clove, grated

Salt

For the pasta:

450g gemelli, campanelle or cavatappi

340g string beans, trimmed and cut into 2½cm pieces

2 tbsp olive oil, plus more for drizzling

2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

½ tsp red-pepper flakes

4 tbsp unsalted butter

25g grated pecorino or parmesan, plus more for serving

Salt, to taste

Method:

1. Bring a large pot of well-salted water (2 heaping tablespoons kosher salt to about 6½L water) to a boil. Meanwhile, in a large frying pan over medium-low heat, toast the almonds, stirring frequently so they don’t burn, about 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat. In a medium bowl, combine the almonds, celery or parsley leaves, lemon zest, garlic and a pinch of salt. Set aside and wipe out pan.

2. Add pasta to boiling water and cook until it is al dente, according to package directions. About 2 minutes before it’s done, add the beans to the pasta pot. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta cooking water, and drain the pasta and beans.

3. While the pasta and beans drain, make the sauce: heat the olive oil in the large frying pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and red-pepper flakes and cook until the garlic is golden in colour, about 1 to 2 minutes. Turn heat to low and add ½ cup of the reserved pasta water to the pan (be careful of splattering) and cook until it is reduced by about half, 1 to 2 minutes more. Turn heat to medium and add the pasta, green beans and butter to the pan and toss until the butter melts. Add the cheese and an additional ¼ cup water and toss until the cheese is emulsified and the pasta is glossy with sauce. If needed, add an additional ¼ cup pasta water to loosen. Season with salt, to taste.

4. Transfer the pasta to a large bowl, top with gremolata and drizzle with more olive oil. Pass additional grated cheese at the table, if desired.

open image in gallery

This flavourful and bright preparation of mahi, which means fish in Persian (not to be confused with mahi-mahi), comes together quickly. In keeping with the sour-leaning Iranian palate, a generous sprinkling of tart sumac and a drizzle of fragrant orange and lime juices coat butterflied whole fish. If your sumac has been languishing in the back of the spice drawer for some time, get a new jar. Over time, sumac loses its fragrance and punchy flavour and becomes bitter and bland. The key to successfully roasting the fish is to remove excess moisture by patting them dry with paper towels. Serve with a side of rice with tahdig, plain steamed rice or oven-baked fries and a simple salad.

By: Naz Deravian

Serves: 4

Total time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

2 large sea bass or trout (about 680g each), butterflied, heads and tails kept on if desired (see tip)

1 medium orange

1 medium lime

1 tbsp sumac

¼ tsp ground turmeric

1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 tsp salt

Fresh mint leaves, torn, for serving (optional)

Method:

1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat oven to 230C. Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Use paper towels to gently pat the fish dry inside and out, and place the fish on the prepared pan.

2. Zest half of the orange directly into a small bowl, then squeeze in the juice from that half (about 3 tablespoons) and the juice from half of the lime (just under 1 tablespoon). Slice the remaining orange and lime halves and set aside for serving. In another small bowl, combine the sumac and turmeric.

3. Drizzle the fish with the olive oil inside and out. Open the fish up like books and evenly sprinkle with the pepper and salt (if using fine salt or coarse salt, use ¾ teaspoon). Arrange the open fish in a single layer, angling and overlapping slightly if needed to fit. Drizzle on the citrus mixture and then dust with the sumac mixture to cover most of the flesh.

4. Roast the fish until flaky and cooked through, about 10 minutes. Garnish with the reserved orange slices, lime slices and fresh mint, and serve.

Tip: Ask the fishmonger at the seafood counter to gut, scale and butterfly the fish for you.

© The New York Times