To boil Cucumbers is a traditional Stuart recipe for a classic dish of boiled cucumbers that are peeled, mashed and served in a butter and vinegar sauce. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Stuart version of: To boil Cucumbers.
Take your largeſt Cucumbers, and waſh them and put them into boiling water made quick with Salt, then when they are boiled enough, take them and peel them and break them into a Cullender, and when the Water is well drained from them, put them into a hot Diſh, and pour over them ſome Butter and Vinegar a little Pepper and Salt, ſtrew Salt on your Dish brims, lay ſome of the Rind of them about the Diſh cut in ſeveral Fancies, and so ſerve them to the Table.
Modern Redaction
The Stuarts were notorious for the lack of vegetables in their diet. Mostly because they distrusted anything that grew in the ground, believing that it might transmit pestilence. Parsnips were a rare exception to this, valued because of their sweetness. However, they shared the Elizabethans' taste for 'sllets' (salads). The term wa broad and could mean a mix of leafy grens nad meats or could be boiled greens or vegetables dressed in sauce. Cucumbers were considered safe, for though they were thought of vegetables they grew like fruit.
Though this recipe calls for 'large cucumbers', it should be noted that today's cucumbers are quite different from their 17th century equivalents. What you need for this are the thick-skinned cucumbers used for making pickled gherkins.
Ingredients:
500g thick-skinned cucumbers
100g butter
4 tbsp white wine vinegar
freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
salt, to taste
Method:
Bring a pan of salted water to a boil, wash the cucumbers, add to the pan and cook for about 20 minutes, or until tender. Drain the cucumbers then peel them. Crush the flesh, put in a colander and set aside to drain.
Take some of the cucumber rinds and cut into nice shapes for use as decoration. Melt the butter in a pan, whisk in the vinegar and season to taste with salt and black pepper. Heat gently until thickened and take off the heat.
Take your serving dish, dip the rim in water and then into salt. Mix the drained cucumber into the sauce, pour into your dish, garnish with the cucumber rind shapes and serve immediately.
