Cucumber is a widely-cultivated creeping vine plant in the Cucurbitaceae gourd family that bears cucumiform fruits, which are used as vegetables.[1] There are three main varieties of cucumber—slicing, pickling, and burpless/seedless—within which several cultivars have been created. There are many ways you can enjoy cucumbers: raw in salads as a side with your meals, fermented as a pickle, or in vegetable juices.

Nutritional benefits

• Help to stay hydrated
• Support heart health
• Protect brain from neurological diseases
• Protect the skin against the effects of aging
• Fight inflammation in the body and reduce the risk of cancer
• Relieve pain
• Reduce bad breath
• Helps strengthen the bones
• Prevent constipation
• Maintain a healthy weight

 

Availability:

Jan   Feb   Mar   Apr   May   Jun   Jul   Aug   Sep   Oct   Nov   Dec
                     

 

 

Common Recipes

 

Cod with cucumber, avocado & mango salsa salad

Ingredients
• 2 x skinless cod fillets
• 1 lime , zested and juiced
• 1 small mango , peeled, stoned and chopped (or 2 peaches, stoned and chopped)
• 1 small avocado , stoned, peeled and sliced
• ¼ cucumber, chopped
• 160g cherry tomatoes , quartered
• 1 red chilli , deseeded and chopped
• 2 spring onions , sliced
• handful chopped coriander

 

Method
• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Put the fish in a shallow ovenproof dish and pour over half the lime juice, with a little of the zest, then grind over some black pepper. Bake for 8 minutes or until the fish flakes easily but is still moist.
• Meanwhile, put the rest of the ingredients, plus the remaining lime juice and zest, in a bowl and combine well. Spoon onto plates and top with the cod, spooning over any juices in the dish.

 

Spiced Quick pickled cucumbers

Ingredients
• 1 large cucumber, ends trimmed, cut in half width ways and spiralized into thick ribbons
• 1 tsp flaky sea salt
• 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp caster sugar
• ½ tsp coriander seeds
• a small handful of dill, leaves picked

Method
• Toss the cucumber ribbons with the salt in a colander. Leave for 15 minutes then squeeze out any excess moisture with your hands and pat the ribbons dry with a tea towel.
• Mix the other ingredients together in a small bowl then stir in the cucumber.

Cucumber, pea & lettuce soup

Ingredients
• 1 tsp rapeseed oil
• small bunch spring onions , roughly chopped
• 1 cucumber, roughly chopped
• 1 large round lettuce , roughly chopped
• 225g frozen peas
• 4 tsp vegetable bouillon
• 4 tbsp bio yogurt (optional)
• 4 slices rye bread

Method
• Boil 1.4 litres water in a kettle. Heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan and cook the spring onions for 5 minutes, stirring frequently, or until softened. Add the cucumber, lettuce and peas, then pour in the boiled water. Stir in the bouillon, cover and simmer for 10 minutes or until the vegetables are soft but still bright green.
• Blitz the mixture with a hand blender until smooth. Serve hot or cold, topped with yogurt (if you like), with rye bread alongside.