A Bountiful Kitchen: Cooking Inn Style with Local, Sustainable Foods (Recipe: Big Mill’s Cucumber and Sweet Vidalia Onion Salad)

photos and guest post from Chloe Tuttle, owner, Big Mill Bed & Breakfast, Williamston, NC

This past spring, while looking for heirloom cucumber seeds to plant in our garden here at Big Mill, I discovered hundreds of cucumber varieties I knew nothing about. Did you know there are cucumbers that have warts, cucumbers that are white, and horned cucumbers? There are even cucumbers that look like a lemon, cucumbers that look like a baby watermelon, some that some weigh 6 pounds, and even a type grown in the Himalayas and Nepal that is a rusty red color and grows 15-inches long.

But for this recipe, a tasty and traditional Cucumber and Sweet Vidalia Onion Salad, you won’t need fancy or unusual varieties of cucumbers. This recipe works great with cucumber varieties most home cooks are probably already familiar with: pickling cucumbers, as well as the long green “burpless” or English cucumbers. If not grown at home, these varieties are easily found at farmers’ markets across the nation.

Cucumber And Sweet Vidalia Onion Salad

(featured on Inn Cuisine, recipe from Big Mill Bed & Breakfast)

• 1 & 1/2 pounds of small cucumbers (or 1 long English cucumber)
• bowl of ice water
• 1 small sweet onion, like a Vidalia
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 3/4 cup white vinegar
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• salt and pepper to taste

Wash the cucumbers and slice into 1/4-inch rounds. If the skins are tough, peel. Soak the cucumber slices in a bowl of ice water until you are ready to serve. Peel the onion and slice into thin rings. Set aside in the refrigerator until ready to serve. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the sour ream, vinegar and sugar. Set aside. This can be done ahead and kept in the refrigerator if desired. Just before serving, drain the cucumbers. Place cucumbers and onions in a serving bowl, toss to mix. Pour the sour cream dressing over the cucumbers and onions, mixing to combine. Do not completely cover the cucumbers with the dressing as cucumbers and onions should not be floating. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

Yield: 4 servings. Note: if this salad is too tart for your taste buds, add more sugar or a few ice cubes.

Big Mill Gardening Tip

Next season, try growing cucumber plants upright in tomato cages versus sprawling all over the garden. You’d be surprised at how high they can grow! (I think they like our compost.)

Additional Resources

• Cucumber Growing Tips
• Growing Cucumbers in the Home Garden
• Growing Cucumbers, Melons, Squash, Pumpkins and Gourds
  

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Tagged as: bed and breakfast recipes, Big Mill Bed and Breakfast recipes, cooking with local sustainable food recipes, cucumber and onion salad recipes, cucumber salad, cucumber salad recipes, growing cucumbers in your garden and cucumber varieties and recipes, vegetable salads, vegetarian recipe