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Posts Tagged ‘Pickled cucumber’

Smoked Salmon with Pickled Cucumber

Posted in Fish, Food, tagged , , , , , , , , , on 5 November 2025| Leave a Comment »

Buy top quality smoked salmon for this and serve as a starter. A delicious recipe from The Italian Deli Cookbook by Theo Randall.

Wine Suggestion: Some good friends brought over a sparkling from Woodchester Valley vineyards in the Cotswolds which was charmingly matched with this dish; both contrasting and complimenting the various flavours and textures. A classic blend of the three Champagne grapes and a classic secondary fermentastion in the bottle. Creamy mousse, hints of bready autolysis and elegance, but a touch more chalky, saline giving this wine a sense of place too.

Smoked salmon with pickled cucumber – serves 4 as a starter

  • 1 small red onion, finely sliced
  • 2 tbsp caster sugar
  • 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
  • 1 cucumber, peeled, halved lengthways and deseeds
  • 100ml sunflower oil
  • 50g coarsely chopped ciabatta
  • 300g sliced smoked salmon
  • 1 tbsp tiny capers in vinegar, drained
  • 50g flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked and roughly chopped
  • 1 lemon, quartered, to serve

Put the onion into a small saucepan with 1 tbsp of the caster sugar and 1 tbsp of the white wine vinegar and ½ tsp salt. Cover with a tight lid and cook over a low heat for 10 minutes, or until the onions are soft. Set aside and leave to cool.

Put the cucumber halves, flat-side down on a board and cut into 5mm slices. Put the sliced cucumber into a bowl with the remaining tbsp of sugar and of vinegar and add ½ tsp salt. Stir gently, then cover with cling film and macerate for 30 minutes. Pour off the excess liquid and put the cucumber into a clean tea towel and squeeze out any excess moisture. Set aside.

Heat the sunflower oil in a small saucepan over a medium heat. When hot, add the ciabatta and fry until lightly golden. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper. Sprinkle with a little sea salt and leave to cool.

Lay the smoked salmon slices over a platter. Scatter over the pickled onion and cucumber, followed by the capers and parsley.

Dot over small teaspoons of the crème fraîche and top with the ciabatta. Season with black pepper and serve the lemon wedges on the side.

(Original recipe from The Italian Deli Cookbook by Theo Randall, Hardie Grant: Quadrille, 2021.)

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Sardines on Toast

Posted in Fish, Food, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on 15 July 2025| Leave a Comment »

We’re good at picking up fancy tins of fish but less good at using them! Here’s some nice inspiration for a tin of sardines.

Brushette with sardines and pickled cucumber – serves 4

  • 1 x 120g tin of sardines in olive oil, drained
  • juice of ½ lemon
  • 2 tbsp good olive oil
  • ½ cucumber, peeled, halved lengthways and deseeded
  • 1 tbsp caster sugar, red wine vinegar
  • 1 tsp sea salt
  • 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 1 beef tomato, halved horizontally
  • ½ tsp chopped marjoram
  • 1 tsp miniature capers in vinegar, drained
  • 4 slices of sourdough bread, toasted
  • 1 garlic clove, peeled
  • green salad, to serve

Remove the large bone in the middle of each sardine and transfer the sardines to a bowl. Mash with a fork, then stir through the lemon juice and 1 tbsp of the olive oil.

Cut the cucumber halves into 1cm slices. Place in a bowl with the sugar, ½ tsp of the salt and the vinegar. Mix well, cover with cling film and leave aside for 10 minutes. Pour off all the excess liquid and put the cucumber slices onto a clean tea towel, gather up the edges and squeeze out the excess moisture. Set aside in a bowl.

Scoop out and discard the tomato seeds. Finely chop the flesh to a pulp with the rest of the salt. Transfer to a colander and leave for 5 minutes to drain. Mix the drained tomatoes with the rest of the olive oil and season with black pepper, then add the marjoram and capers. Set aside.

Gently rub the toasted sourdough with the garlic clove. Divide the sardines equally on top of the sourdough slices and add a spoonful of the chopped tomato mixture. Finish with the pickled cucumber and serve with a dressed green salad.

(Original recipe from The Italian Deli Cookbook by Theo Randall, Quadrille, 2021.)

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Scandi Baked Meatballs with Pickled Cucumber Salad

Posted in Food, Pork, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on 8 June 2023| Leave a Comment »

Inspired by an extra cucumber in the veg drawer. A lovely meal for mid-week with crusty bread.

Wine Suggestion: Wines from the hills in South Western France are very underrated, especially when made by insightful provocative winemakers. The Domaine Coustarret Jurançon Sec is 100% Gros Manseng and has a great balance between a sappy, salty backbone overlayed with orange zest and fresh stonefruit flavours. Well worth seeking out.

Scandi baked meatballs with pickled cucumber salad – serves 4

  • 400g pork mince
  • 1 egg yolk
  • ½ tsp allspice
  • 100g breadcrumbs
  • 1 small onion, grated
  • a handful of dill, finely chopped, plus extra to serve
  • 1 tsp freshly ground white pepper
  • 4 tbsp sour cream, seasoned
  • crusty bread, to serve

FOR THE PICKLED CUCUMBER SALAD:

  • 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
  • 1 tbsp caster sugar
  • ½ cucumber, peeled and cut into half moons
  • 1 tsp yellow mustard seeds
  • a handful of parsley, chopped

Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6.

Start with the pickled cucumber salad. Put the vinegar and sugar into a small saucepan and heat until the sugar has dissolved, then set aside to cool. Put the cucumber into a bowl, then pour over the cooled vinegar and add the mustard seeds. Stir and set aside.

Put the pork mince, egg yolk, allspice, breadcrumbs, grated onion, dill and white pepper, into a bowl. Season well, then mix with your hands until well combined. Form into 20 meatballs and set them into a large baking dish.

Put the meatballs into the hot oven for 20 minutes or until golden and cooked through. Drizzle with the sour cream and scatter over the reserved dill. Serve with the cucumber salad and crusty bread.

(Original recipe by Janine Ratcliffe in Olive Magazine, April 2017.)

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