One-Pot Wonders

Brown butter braised cucumbers with pine nuts and coarseĀ salt

February 11, 2012
5
1 Ratings
  • Serves 2
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

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 2 large slicing cucumbers
  • Pinch coarse sea salt
  • 2 turns of freshly cracked black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
  • 1 tablespoon pine nuts
Directions
  1. Peel and slice cumbers into 2-inch spears.
  2. Generously salt and allow to drain for 5-10 minutes.
  3. Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in a frying pan then add half of the butter.
  4. When butter melts, add pine nuts and cucumbers.
  5. Cook for 10 minutes, regularly stirring gently so the pine nuts get toasty and gorgeous.
  6. Add pepper and the rest of your butter. Stir, stir, stir.
  7. When butter begins to foam and brown, remove from heat.
  8. Scoop onto a plate and garnish with brown butter and red pepper flakes.

See what other Food52ers are saying.

1 Review

mahnur May 30, 2023
I was watching Julie and Julia when I came across the term, Braised cucumbers and just how any other foodie would react, I typed the term in google and there came your recipe on top. I am glad I made that search.