Welcome back to our series Market Fresh, in which we take a look at one ingredient that's showing up in the city's Greenmarkets right now and tell you what to do with it. Last week, we looked at cherries, and today we're cooling down with cucumbers.
Cucumbers, which grow like wildfire from May to August, are actually in the same family as squash and muskmelon. There are three main varieties of cuckes: slicing (grown to be eaten fresh), pickling (short, thick and bumpy, and, naturally, intended to be pickled) and burpless (delicate and nearly seedless). They're almost 90 percent water, and shouldn't be cooked—eat them straight up, or diced into a salad with noodles or other vegetables and a kicky dressing.
We spoke to Marc Forgione, Iron Chef and owner of Marc Forgione in Tribeca, to find out what he does with the vegetable. "One of my favorite snacks when I was growing up was cucumber, tomato and basil sandwich from my mom's garden. Olive oil and balsamic, no bread—the cucumbers were the bread—so good!" he says—and though this recipe is bit more grown-up, it still speaks to the simple pleasures of raw cuckes.
Marc Forgione's White Gazpacho
2 1/4 cups sherry vinegar
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 1/2 cups crustless 1-inch cubes of peasant bread
1 cup Greek whole-milk yogurt
3/4 cup marcona almonds + ¼ c set aside
1/2 pound seedless green grapes + ¼ c sliced and set aside
1/2 large seedless cucumber—peeled, seeded and coarsely chopped
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil + extra for finishing
4 leaves fresh mint
Soak the bread in cold water
Toss the almonds in extra virgin olive oil and salt and toast in oven at 350 for about 7min or until lightly colored
Squeeze excess liquid from the bread
Put all ingredients except yogurt and vinegar in a blender or blend (you may need to add a little cold water to reach soup consistency)
Season with salt
Cool completely before serving
Garnish with sliced grapes, almonds, sliced mint, a little olive oil and some smoked Spanish paprika (optional)
