Spaghetti with cucumbers, smoked salmon, and kalamata olives crudo

Pasta with diced raw cucumbers, kalamata olives, and smoke salmon with olive oil, dill, and garlic. This is a new dish for us, inspired by the abundant harvest of cucumbers from Patience's garden. It is an unusual pairing, pasta and cucumbers, but it works. The olives and dill give it a unique flavor, and the salmon is optional. A few halved cherry tomatoes provide a little color.

7-24-17 Pasta-peas-cucumber salad

With fresh corn and tomatoes in abundance, it is the season for pasta salad, and that creates the challenge to avoid repetition. Two ways to do that is to vary the ingredients and the dressing. (In all of my pasta dishes I try to balance the pasta with an equal amount of non-pasta ingredients.)

PASTA SALAD INGREDIENTS:

1.     Campanelle pasta -  3 oz.

2.     Frozen peas – 1 cup

3.     One medium cucumber – diced

4.     Celery

5.     Fresh spearming (or mint) leaves coarsely chopped

6.     Mayonnaise

7.     Cream- about ¼ cup

8.     Fresh lime juice – ½ med. Lime

9.     Salt & pepper to taste

PROCESS:

Cook the pasta, drain, and in a bowl add some olive oil to prevent sticking, and chill.

Later, mix in the vegetables and herbs, followed by the dressing.

COMMENTS:

The spearmint gives a refreshing new flavor to salad and goes well with the peas and cucumber. Of course having fresh corn and tomatoes lying next to it doesn’t hurt.  This is an easy summer meal and can be prepared hours ahead of time.

FUSILLI WITH TOMATO-CUCUMBER SALAD 8-23

Yesterday I took on the zucchini. Today I confront the cucumbers that seem to be propagating themselves in the produce compartment. Taking advantage of the fresh tomatoes lining the counter in our kitchen I’ve decided on a salad combining both of the fruits of summer. (I know…cucumbers are not a fruit, it was merely and expression.)



INGREDIENTS:

Tomatoes, cut into bite sized pieces
Cucumbers, peeled, cut in half lengthwise and sliced
Water
Fresh basil and oregano finely chopped
Garlic finely chopped
Olive oil
Red wine vinegar
Black olives, pitted and coarsely chopped.

PROCESS:

Mix all of the ingredients in a bowl…adjusting the liquids to create a layer of juice in the bottom of the bowl, cover and set aside to marinate for about an hour.

Drain the pasta and mix well with the salad.

COMMENTS:

This is a great summer dish…Patience said the only thing missing was some fresh corn on the cobb.

TUNA & CUCUMBER PASTA 7-24

This is one of those dishes that are embarrassingly easy to prepare, and the satisfying flavor is inversely proportional to the effort. I’ve made it several times over the past few years…the difference this time is the cucumbers and tomatoes. It was delicious without them, and even better with them.



INGREDIENTS:

Linguine
Tuna in oil
Cucumber…diced
Large grape tomatoes, quartered
Oregano, dill, parsley
Lemon juice
Olive oil
Garlic, shallots
One Anchovy fillet, finely chopped
Red pepper flakes

PROCESS:

While the pasta is cooking sauté the garlic, shallots, and anchovy in Olive oil, along with the red pepper flakes. Add the pasta to this sauce and mix in the herbs, cucumber, tomatoes and tuna, and lemon juice, adding more olive oil and pasta water to get the desired consistency.

COMMENTS:

Although any pasta will work with this, P and I prefer Linguine. I urge you to try this, with or without the cucumbers and tomatoes. It has become a staple in our kitchen.