Sautéed Cucumbers

Today I did something a little different with the abundance of cucumbers we have: I sautéed them. I’ve never, to my knowledge, had sautéed cucumbers. I read some recipes for braised cucumbers, which is sort of the same thing, except I think they added lemon juice and cooked them a little longer. Not having lemon juice, time, or patience, I opted for sautéing. This is what I did:

Ingredients

• 2-3 sliced cucumbers
• 1/2 large sliced onion
• 2 T butter
• 1 T olive oil (helps prevent the butter from burning)
• ~12 fresh minced mint leaves
• salt & pepper to taste

In a sauté pan (I used cast iron) melt the butter and olive oil.

Add the sliced onion to the pan and sauté until softened, then add the sliced cukes.

Add salt and pepper.

Once the cukes are softening up and glistening, add the mint.

Remove from heat, stir it all up.

Serve as is or with a dollop or two of plain yogurt.

I used a Vidalia onion (they’re a bit sweeter than yellow onions and my Southern Man & I love them) and fresh mint. If you don’t have fresh mint taking over the flower bed outside your front door like we do, then you may certainly use dried mint. I would just start off with 1/2 teaspoon and add it when you add the cucumbers–whether you use fresh or dried, adjust it to your own taste. You could also try substituting dill. 🙂

This is what the final result looked like before it was served:

Then, after it was served:

Not quite as appetizing-looking, perhaps? But, oh, it tasted so good! It started off tasting a bit like summer squash, ending with a mild cucumber flavor.

Finally, after it was eaten and sent off to the dishwasher:

She liked it, too!