Braised Cucumbers --- an old Berliner recipe from my granny!
I haven't eaten this dish in years! And mum recently reminded me at this dish. Because she was going to cook it.
I also saw the correct cumbers at my veggie store recently. So why not cook this great dish.
It is simple, it is light and it is healthy.
To make this dish you don't use common salad/Lebanese cucumbers.
I actually don't know how this kind of cucumber is named here in Australia
(in Germany they are called "Country Cucumbers"),
but I added a picture at the end of this recipe to show you.
I also changed the recipe a little bit --- added my personal "note".
And made it detox members approved.
But feel free to use apple cider vinegar instead of lemon juice.
The original is cooked with vinegar. And sometimes I also just use apple cider.
Both works fine for me. Lemon juice OR vinegar.
Vinegar just makes it more tasteful. It somehow has this special "it" if you know what I mean.
For non detox followers, the original also adds bacon.
Of course we do not use bacon in my kitchen, but a good quality gmo free organic smoked tofu
is a good thing to add. I would fry it together with the onion if I would choose to add it.
So feel free to add small smoked tofu cubes. The dish is both ways pretty good.
I personally prefer the smoked tofu and vinegar version, makes it more complete and savory.
But when I am on an actual detox, I go with the lemon juice version and feel pretty happy as well.
Your choice.... I just like to add 2 options :-)
So,...
... a sweet and sour dish Berlin style :-)
Best served with is it with mashed potatoes.
For 2 serves you need:
1/2 a big cucumber, or 1 small cucumber - de-seeded, halved and cut in to chunks
1/2 middle sized onion - chopped up
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp caraway seeds
1/2 - 1 tsp pink himalaya salt (or more if you desire)
1/2 tsp potato starch mixed with a small splash of water
fresh lemon juice
Maple syrup
Find the ballance in between sweet & sour.
I added approx. the juice of half a middle sized lemon and
approx. 3/4 - 1 tbsp syrup.
1 tsp organic cold pressed extra virgin olive oil for frying
150ml filtered water
For the Mashed potatoes:
2 big potatoes - use floury ones, not waxy ones - cut into small pieces
1 small clove of garlic - grated
1/4 tsp Nutmeg
1 pinch of pink Himalaya salt (or sea-salt)
1/2 stalk of spring onion - sliced
Approx. 200ml unsweetened almond milk or water
Finish with:
a handful fresh chopped flat Italian parsley.
Direction:
1. . Start with the potatoes and remove skin and cook until done.
Cut small pieces to get the cooking process finished fast!
2. Prepare cucumber and onion.
Heat a frying pan with a lid and add the olive oil.
Or use a pot with lid.
When hot, add onions and fry on higher heat until slightly golden.
3. Add cucumber and fry for further 5 minutes on higher heat.
4. Turn down the heat to middle heat and add the herbs and spices.
Stir to combine.
5. degalze with the water.
6. Add lemon juice and maple syrup and find the balance between sweet and sour.
But don't add to much, it only should have a nice taste of it. It should not overpower the dish.
5. Mix potato starch with water and add to the dish to thicken the sauce.
The dish should simmer,... so add the starch and stir straight away to thicken the sauce.
It should turn nice and smooth.
7. Turn down the heat to a low heat simmer. shut the lid and cook for about 15-20 minutes.
Check from time to time.
8. Finish the mashed potatoes. Add grated garlic and almond milk to your cooked potatoes and mash well.
When done, add fresh spring onion and mix well to combine.
9. Plate up, finish the dish with fresh chopped flat Italian parsley and enjoy :-)
Those are the cucumber you need for the dish.
They stay al-dente when you cook them and that is what we want.
fuer meine deutschsprachigen Freunde,... hier ist der Google Uebersetzer, der euch alles ins Deutsche uebersetzt.
Einfach den gesamten Text kopieren und einfuegen,... fertig.
www.google.com/search?q=deutsch-englisch&client=firefox-b-d&sca_esv=554311187&ei=qzTQZI6xLr2nseMPlb6S0AQ&oq=ganzer+text+english+deutsch&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiG2dhbnplciB0ZXh0IGVuZ2xpc2ggZGV1dHNjaCoCCAAyChAAGEcY1gQYsAMyChAAGEcY1gQYsAMyChAAGEcY1gQYsAMyChAAGEcY1gQYsAMyChAAGEcY1gQYsAMyChAAGEcY1gQYsAMyChAAGEcY1gQYsAMyChAAGEcY1gQYsANI9A5QAFgAcAF4AZABAJgBAKABAKoBALgBAcgBAOIDBBgAIEGIBgGQBgg&sclient=gws-wiz-serp
They stay al-dente when you cook them and that is what we want.
fuer meine deutschsprachigen Freunde,... hier ist der Google Uebersetzer, der euch alles ins Deutsche uebersetzt.
Einfach den gesamten Text kopieren und einfuegen,... fertig.
www.google.com/search?q=deutsch-englisch&client=firefox-b-d&sca_esv=554311187&ei=qzTQZI6xLr2nseMPlb6S0AQ&oq=ganzer+text+english+deutsch&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiG2dhbnplciB0ZXh0IGVuZ2xpc2ggZGV1dHNjaCoCCAAyChAAGEcY1gQYsAMyChAAGEcY1gQYsAMyChAAGEcY1gQYsAMyChAAGEcY1gQYsAMyChAAGEcY1gQYsAMyChAAGEcY1gQYsAMyChAAGEcY1gQYsAMyChAAGEcY1gQYsANI9A5QAFgAcAF4AZABAJgBAKABAKoBALgBAcgBAOIDBBgAIEGIBgGQBgg&sclient=gws-wiz-serp