Thank You, David Tanis

In my most recent CSA bounty, I got a beautiful cucumber. It’s still early for tomatoes, and thus my favorite use for those two bits of produce, gazpacho (I’m sure it’ll come soon enough!). Thus I went hunting through my cookbooks and cooking magazines (of which I am not lacking) for a good recipe using a cucumber. Sure, I could slice it and eat raw, or make cucumber water, but I wanted something different.

In paging through one of my more beautiful cookbooks, A Platter of Figs and Other Recipes, byDavid Tanis, I found a recipe for salmon with Vietnamese cucumbers. I was hooked, and had to try it. This book is gorgeous, but I also love it in concept, too. Tanis’ thesis is that the best meals are those that feature fresh, fabulous ingredients. With a past at Chez Panisse (which is on my list of must-eat-there-someday restaurants), Tanis has a knack for celebrating the best in food. If the ingredients are good, the preparation does not need to be elaborate to highlight the flavors.

Knowing a bit of his basic philosophy, I was excited to see if this was as simply and tasty as I hoped. I sliced the cucumbers into the half moons and mixed them with the dressing ingredients, which included (among other things) some chili pepper, ginger and fish sauce, then stuck the bowl in the fridge to marinate and meld. This took about 15 minutes, total, and I was not hurrying.

The next day, I pulled the cucumbers and a wild salmon filet (I always ask the fishmonger to skin it for me before it gets wrapped up – convenience!) out of the fridge. I decided to cook up some quinoa, which is a high-protein grain that cooks quickly, too. I cooked it only in water, knowing the cucumber liquid would season the entire plate. Then I quickly pan sautéed the salmon filet.

Not only was the plate beautiful, but it was delicious. The rich fish was nicely balanced by the tang and spice of the cucumbers. The quinoa acted as the perfect base, adding texture and serving as a vessel for the flavors. Though I had cucumbers left over after serving myself, I went back and ate them all. I can’t wait to make more of these cucumbers!