OLS | Lemon Cucumbers

By Leslie Kedash

I’m just slightly addicted to cookbooks and cooking blogs. I recently came across a recipe that called for lemon cucumbers and the quest was on.

I must say that the lemon cucumber has quite a bit going for it: a pretty yellow color, shape (round, the size of a baseball) and taste (sweet and mild). It lacks much of the chemical that makes other cucumbers bitter and hard to digest.

I found them this past Friday at the Kennett Farmers’ Market. I came, I saw, I cooked.

Lemon Cucumber Tofu Salad, Recipe from 101 Cookbooks

Super Natural Cooking by Heidi Swanson, while this cucumber dish is not in the book I highly recommend this cookbook for anyone trying to incorporate healthy fresh ingredients into their diet.

Lemon Cucumber Tofu Salad

Delicious over salad greens.

2 lemon cucumbers, quartered the sliced into 1/4 inch thick slices

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

2 big pinches of salt

8 ounces nigari extra firm tofu

1/4 cup pine nuts

1/2 of a large ripe avocado

Toss the cucumbers, dill, olive oil, lemon juice and salt together in a medium bowl. Let sit for at least 20 minutes tossing gently once or twice along the way.

In the meantime, cook the tofu. Cook the tofu and a pinch of salt in a well-seasoned skillet over medium high heat for a few minutes, until the pieces are browned on one side. Toss gently once or twice, then continue cooking for another minute or so, until the tofu is firm, golden, and bouncy. Set aside.

Just before serving cut the avocado into cubes.

Spoon the cucumbers out of the lemon-olive oil mixture into a larger salad bowl. Add half the remaining dressing, the tofu, and half of the pine nuts. Gently toss. Taste. Add more dressing or salt if you like. Sprinkle the avacado across the top of the salad and gently toss once or twice to distrubute it throughout the salad. Serve topped with the remaining pine nuts.