Topic: Garden
The AMAZING Armenian Cucumber
The Armenian Cucumber is a garden delight with which you should acquaint yourself!
Why? Because this is quite the versatile item! It is a member of the muskmelon family, growing on a vine—like melons and squash. So you don't have to trellis it like regular cucumbers—thank goodness for that! One plant is highly productive and the fruit grows to 24-36 inches in length. And, trust me, just one Armenian cuke will make a couple of huge salads.
They're easy to prep for use.
Wash the outside
Slice into large segments
Slice the large segments length-wise into halves
Take a spoon and slide out the center seeds
Slice the segments again length wise
Slice the segments through the skin and flesh into thin slices
You DON'T have to peel because the skin is so thin and edible
You CAN also grate it or cut into sticks for other recipes
Wherever you use a regular cucumber, you can substitute the Armenian cucumber! Its flesh is like a cucumber's and its flavor is kind of like a cross between cucumber with melon overtones. Yum!
Below you can see it in a crisp salad, simply sliced thin and dressed with a vinegar & oil dressing-salt, pepper, a sprinkle of sugar and lots of dried dillweed.!
This weekend, my sister grated it for an Indian grated cucumber salad called Raita. See it in the bowl alongside the Chicken curry and Kale with tomato dish? This is usually simple grated cucumber with yogurt (or sour cream) , salt and pepper. She kicked it up with some sliced jalepenos, too.
I've used a standard recipe for Freezer Pickles and substituted the Armenian Cucumber for a standard cucumber with great results.
And it is delicious just eaten as crispy slices!
