PAN-FRIED ENGLISH CUCUMBERS

CUCUMBERS CAN BE DELICIOUS. I’m not lying.

I’ve always found cucumbers to be some of the most boring food on the planet. When I was a kid, I was told that eating them would “make you more beautiful”—something about the “special water” in them. I still wouldn’t eat them. It wasn’t like they couldn’t make a cameo in my salad—I wasn’t running from them. But then again, any time they did appear, I asked myself “why?” and kinda forked them off to the side. It took decades but I finally figured out a way to enjoy them. Like I made two batches and didn’t share any kind of them. To be clear, it’s not all that tough, I just didn’t think they were worth thinking about until they ended up on my counter as a gift from a friend during the Covid quarantine (thank you, Amber!).

Since cucumbers lack flavor, I made it my mission to dump loads of flavors onto them—dill, basil, parmesan. On top of that, I pan-fried them to help cook in some extra flavor. Enjoy!

Print

With ImageWithout Image

PAN-FRIED ENGLISH CUCUMBERS

Yield: 4 Servings

Author: Michelle Williams

Prep time: 5 MinCook time: 10 MinTotal time: 15 Min

Ingredients

• English Cucumber (1, sliced into 1/4 thick slices)
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Garlic Powder (1/2 teaspoon)
• Salt (1/2 teaspoon)
• Pepper (1/4 teaspon)
• Crushed Red Pepper Flakes (1/4 teaspoon)
• Butter (1/2 tablespoon, cut into quarters)
• Fresh Dill (1 tablespoon, chooped)
• Fresh Basil (1 tablespoon, chopped)
• Parmesan (grated from a block to your liking)
• Coarse Sea Salt (for topping)

KITCHEN ITEMS

• Cutting Board
• Chefs Knife
• Medium Mixing Bowl
• 12 Inch Frying Pan
• Tongs
• Microplane

Instructions

TO COOK YOUR CUCUMBERS

1. Put your cucumbers in your mixing bowl.
2. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of olive oil over them.
3. Season them with garlic powder, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper. Mix it all together until your cucumbers are fully coated.
4. Coat your frying pan with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Heat it over high heat.
5. One by one, lay your cucumber slices into your pan. They should sizzle when they touch the oil.
6. Let them sit untouched until the underside has browned—about 4 minutes. Use your tongs to check them in different parts of the pan periodically to make sure you aren’t burning them.
7. One by one, use your tongs to flip all of your cucumbers over.
8. Place your pieces of butter in between your cucumbers around the pan.
9. Sprinkle your chopped dill and basil evenly over all of your cucumbers.
10. Once the underside begins to brown, use your tongs to transfer your cucumbers to a plate.
11. Use your microplane to grate parmesan to your liking over your cucumbers.
12. Sprinkle coarse sea salt over your cucumbers.

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @coffeeandchampagne on instagram and hashtag it # coffeeandchampagnekitchen