We tend to think of cucumbers as cool and crispy, best smashed and served in salads or in brine and pickled. But a cooked cucumber has beauty, especially a grilled one.
Cooked cumbers are surprisingly sweet and fragrant, with an intoxicating aroma that is similar to, but not identical to, a zucchini. Thanks to their extremely high moisture content, they stay firm when exposed to high heat, giving you a spear with a crisp, juicy inside and a deeply aromatic outside. I like grilled pickles a lot more than I was prepared, I say.
And high heat is key when grilling these babies – you don’t want to fry your cukes, you just want to give them a little outside color and char. The larger your segments, the cooler and firmer they’ll stay inside. I grilled cucumber halves and cucumber quarters, and both are good, although quartering gives extra surface to brown (and browning is equal to taste). As for the skins, you can leave them on or peel them off. I like the touch of bitterness they add and they blow in a delightful way.
Aside from this little knife (and / or peeling) job, grilled cukes require little preparation. Throw them in enough oil to coat them – something neutral is preferable, but I used cheap olive oil and they turned out great – and beat them up with a few generous pinches of salt. Grill over high heat until browned, blistered and slightly softened. Let them cool to room temperature, then drizzle or pour a salty, sour dressing or sauce over them, or chop them into pieces and toss them with a salad. I also think they’d make a killer tea sandwich. You know the variety – cream cheese and white bread could always benefit from a small dimension, and grilled pickles have at least five.
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