Author Notes: I remember laughing at the part of “Julie & Julia” when she declares braised cucumbers to be a “revelation.” Slime-coated cucumbers, fried in a pan. A revelation? Please excuse me while i gag. However, I should have known better than to question Julia Child. (Julie, okay.)
It was until I found myself with extra cukes last summer that I decided to give it a whirl and was pleasantly surprised.
Fast-forward to mid-February and I’ve found this as a frequent player in my side dish rotation. So much so that I occasionally devour a single batch myself instead of a proper meal. Proper meal is a subjective term, right?
—jadoreyoumore
Serves: 2
Ingredients
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2
large slicing cucumbers
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pinches coarse sea salt
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2
turns of freshly cracked black pepper
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1
teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
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1
tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
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1
tablespoon unsalted butter
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1
tablespoon pine nuts
Directions
- Peel and slice cumbers into 2-inch spears.
- Generously salt and allow to drain for 5-10 minutes.
- Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in a frying pan then add half of the butter.
- When butter melts, add pine nuts and cucumbers.
- Cook for 10 minutes, regularly stirring gently so the pine nuts get toasty and gorgeous.
- Add pepper and the rest of your butter. Stir, stir, stir.
- When butter begins to foam and brown, remove from heat.
- Scoop onto a plate and garnish with brown butter and red pepper flakes.
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