Fried Cucumbers

“Everything is better fried.” That’s one of my cooking mottos. That and “Everything is better with cheese.” So when I received a load of cucumbers in my farm share two weeks in a row I wondered, what should I do with all these cukes!? Pickles were an option (and an idea I might try out soon!), so was slicing them up for salad. But I wanted to do something new, exciting, fun… adventuresome!

The internet is really a magnificent thing. I don’t know how my cooking would go without it. I typed “unique cucumber recipe” into Google and alas, I found myself a recipe for fried cucumbers. FRIED CUCUMBERS?! You say. Well, of course! There are fried green tomatoes, so why not cucumbers. Remember the motto: Everything is better fried.

I made this recipe as an appetizer to a casserole that was cooking in the oven, and they were a wonderful treat to snack on before the actual meal was ready. These tasty little cucumber rounds were crispy and fried on the outside and soft and warm on the inside. Oh, yum. Even though I made these on a very hot evening, and while it heated up my kitchen even more, I didn’t care, because they were so delish!

I posted the recipe as I found it online, there are a few things I will note that I did/would do differently from their directions: First, it calls for 5 eggs but there was quite lot of egg/milk batter left over, you could probably do with just 3 eggs. Second, I used sunflower oil instead of vegetable oil and just lightly coated the bottom of a frying pan (since I didn’t have a deep-fryer) and that worked out pretty well… probably saved a bit of unnecessary oil/fat too.


Cheers!
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Fried Cucumbers – Recipe compliments of AllRecipes.com


Ingredients --

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 2 tablespoons ground black pepper
• 5 eggs
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 quart vegetable oil for frying
• 2 large cucumbers, cut into 1/2-inch slices

Directions --

1. Whisk the flour together with 2 tablespoons salt and 2 tablespoons pepper in a mixing bowl; set aside. Beat the eggs in a separate mixing bowl; whisk in the milk, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper until smooth.
2. Heat oil in a deep-fryer or large saucepan to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
3. Dip the cucumber slices into the beaten egg, then press into the flour. Gently place the cucumber slices into the hot oil and cook until golden brown on both sides, about 3 to 4 minutes. Drain on a paper towel-lined plate, allowing to cool 5 minutes before serving.