One dish that has almost dropped from sight is marinated cucumber salad.

While June 13th is National Cucumber Day, pale-green cucumbers have a place on St. Patrick’s Day: as a side with a sandwich or with a main of seafood, poultry and meat—even corned beef and cabbage or a Guinness beef stew or lamb stew.

So March 17th provides a good reason to whip up an easy cucumber salad.

Cucumbers originated in India, but migrated to Europe as early as Ancient Rome. They were a favorite food of Emperor Tiberius. See the history of cucumbers below.

Published records of cucumber salad appear in 17th century Europe. These cucumber salads were simply sliced and marinated in vinegar or lemon juice, with or without oil. Sliced onion could be added, plus fresh herbs—dill became a favorite pairing, or dill seeds.

Cucumber salad has been a favorite of at least four generations of my family. (We don’t know about the family beyond that, but given that much of the family is from Russia, the odds are that it may be scores of generations.)

Although it’s a great warm-weather dish, we eat cucumber salad year-round: as a side with dinner, as a bed for grilled fish, a condiment on fish sandwiches, on toast and as a filling for toasted pita, as a side with bagels and lox.

Russian style cucumber salad includes sour cream mixed with lots of chopped dill, and sliced onions. And a seasoning of salt and pepper, of course.

Our second favorite recipe is for Greek-style cucumber salad:

 
We like it so much that we keep containers of it in the fridge. If you store it, hold the feta (and grape leaves) aside until you’re ready to serve the salad.

Cucumbers pair with almost any regional or global cuisine. So check out the recipe ideas below, and create your own signature recipe.

Did we mention: Cucumber salad is very low in calories?

And a piece of food trivia: Cucumbers belong to the same botanical family as melons.
 
 
WAYS TO CUSTOMIZE YOUR CUCUMBER SALAD

You can create scores of variations to a standard cucumber salad.

 
Also consider these popular cucumber salads:

 
Check Out These 9 More Ways To Serve Cucumbers
 
 
DO YOU HAVE TO PEEL THE CUCUMBER?

Cucumber peel is a good source of dietary fiber. The flesh is low in calories and high in vitamin K, anti-oxidants and potassium.

Some people may have a hesitance to eat the peel, but try it. The thinner you slice the cucumbers, the easier it is to chew the peel.

In fact, one way to solve the problem is to buy the long English cucumber instead of the fat, waxed supermarket variety. Many supermarkets carry them.

Also called the burpless cucumber, European cucumber, hothouse cucumber and seedless cucumber, these cukes are thin skinned and almost seedless. They are easily 12″ to 14″ long, but some grow up to two feet in length (photo #6).

English cucumbers were actually bred to eliminate some of the more undesirable characteristics: a tough outer skin, large seeds, in some varieties, a bitter taste, and yes, burping.
 

CUCUMBER HISTORY

The cucumber originated in India and was cultivated more than 4000 years ago. Easy to cultivate, it spread to other parts of the Pacific.

By the first century B.C.E., it was traded to ancient Greece, Rome, the Middle East, and to modern-day Bulgaria and Serbia.

[1] Cucumber and honeydew salad with lemon and a garnish of mint and birds-eye chile. Here’s the recipe (photo © Good Eggs).

[2] Cucumber salad with blackberries, fresh herbs and yogurt dressing. For eye appeal (and fun), the cucumbers are cut in triangles (photo © Good Eggs).

[3] Hot and spicy: cucumber radish salad with habanero, a sour cream-yogurt dressing and a cilantro garnish (photo © Melissa’s).

[4] Israeli salad: cucumbers, tomatoes, parsley and scallions. Here’s the recipe (photo © PushLama | iStock Photo).

[5] Sweet-and-sour Asian cucumber salad. Here’s the recipe (photo © Sunset Grown).

[6] English cucumbers are 12″ to 14″ long, as you can see compared to a conventional American supermarket cucumber (photo © Mastronardi Produce | Sunset Grown).

The Roman Emperor Tiberius (14 B.C.E. to 16 C.E.) ate cucumbers every day of the year. Special gardens were tended just for his vegetables. In the winter, the cucumbers were grown on bed frames or wheeled carts that were moved around to follow the sun, and brought indoors at night for warmth.

(The first practical greenhouse was invented by the French botanist Charles Lucien Bonaparte during the 1800s, to grow medicinal tropical plants.)

Because it is such a prolific grower (one vine grows many cukes), the vegetable was inexpensive and accessible to both the wealthy and peasants. In addition to eating, cucumbers were widely used as medicinal remedies.

After the fall of Rome, cucumbers receded for a long period, resurfacing in France at the court of Charlemagne in the late 8th and 9th centuries.

 
In 2010, worldwide cucumber production was 57.5 million tons, with majority of the world’s production and export coming from China (40.7 million tons).

[1] This Shamrock Shake uses a topping of Lucky Charms. Cute as they are, we’d rather have green sprinkles or edible glitter (both photos © Ray’s Boathouse).

[2] If you don’t have any green garnishes, you can default to the ubiquitous maraschino cherry. Here’s the best brand from Tillen Farms, all natural and available on Amazon.

Ray’s Boathouse in Seattle is a wonderful waterfront seafood destination, serving local, seasonal fish and shellfish.

Located dockside restaurant on Shilshole Bay, a part of Puget Sound, diners can enjoy a majestic view of the Sound and the Olympic Mountains.

Ray’s Cafe, located upstairs from Ray’s Boathouse, is now serving their seasonal St. Patrick’s Day-inspired Shamrock Shake, through March 17th.

Let some people drink green beer and green Martinis: We want the green milkshake with Irish whiskey and two liqueurs.

This boozy milkshake is made with:

 
Here’s our copycat version, with many thanks to Ray’s for the inspiration. Enjoy it for dessert or as a snack.

Note that you may want to taste the shake after you’ve blended it halfway. If you want a stronger whiskey flavor, add more crème de cacao, crème de cacao or Irish whiskey to taste.
 
 
RECIPE: BOOZY ST. PATRICK’S DAY SHAKE

Ingredients For 2 Shakes

 
Preparation

1. COMBINE all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.

2. GARNISH as desired and serve immediately.

One of the latest ingredients embraced by chefs nationwide is nutritional yeast, a seasoning that adds cheesy, nutty, umami flavor—not unlike like the Parmesan cheese in a shaker can, but a little richer and rounder.

It’s naturally low in calories and sodium, and is fat-free, gluten-free, sugar-free and vegan.

It’s growing in popularity to the point where Datassential, which monitors trends at restaurants nationwide, notes a 40% growth in menu mentions of nutritional yeast over the past year [source].

Nutritional yeast, casually known by its street name, “nooch,” is a way for cooks to deliver a nutritious punch of flavor.

It has long been used in vegan cooking: combined with a purée of cashews and seasonings to create a vegan cheese, or as a topping for pastas, salads and soups.

But its use is not limited to vegan or any other diet. Its umami quality makes nutritional yeast a flavor and nutrition boon for vegans, vegetarians and meat-eaters alike (here’s the difference between vegans, vegetarians, flexitarians and and other restrictive diets).

Nutritional yeast is sold as flakes, granules or powder and can be found in natural and health food stores.

It not only delivers a big boost of flavor; it also supplies the nutrition its name promises: all nine essential amino acids, B vitamins and multiple trace minerals.

The only problem with nutritional yeast is its name. To us, “nutritional yeast” sounds like something for people with anemia. Now you know better.
 
 
WHAT IS NUTRITIONAL YEAST?

There are three types of yeast that are technically made from the same yeast species, Saccharomyces cerevisiae. But are used for very different purposes.

 
Now to add on another layer of information:

There are two types of nutritional yeast, fortified and unfortified.

 
 
HOW TO USE NUTRITIONAL YEAST

You can use nutritional yeast as a seasoning for foods that can use the cheesy, nutty, umami flavor it delivers.

Vegans use it as a primary ingredient to create plant-based cheese alternatives. If you’re lactose-intolerant, kosher, or otherwise avoiding dairy products, you can use it here.

Anyone can:

 
So go ahead: Kick it up a nooch.

________________

*Coconut aminos is a salty, savory seasoning sauce made from the fermented sap of coconut palm and sea salt. You can buy it at health food stores and online.

[1] Nutritional yeast (photo © Bhofack2 | iStock Photo).

[2] Avocado toast and eggs sprinkled with nutritional yeast (photo © Vincent Rivaud |Pexels

[3] Penne rigate with mushrooms in olive oil sauce, sprinkled with nutritional yeast (photo © Engin Akyurt | Pexels).

[4] Buddha bowl (photo © Kween).

[1] Fusilli (corkscrew) pasta with white beans and kale. The recipe is below (both photos © DeLallo).

[2] Delallo”s biodynamic whole wheat fusilli. You can get it online.

[3] Lacinto kale, also known as Tuscan kale, Italian kale and dinosaur kale, among other names (photo © Good Eggs).

[4] Dried cannellini beans from Fortuna Sausage (photo © Fortuna Sausage).

In our continuing series of green main courses for St. Patrick’s Day, we present a simple dish that’s chock full of protein from beans, plus and vitamins and bright green color from kale.

The fragrant, garlicky greens and white beans team up with fusilli pasta, the familiar corkscrew shape.

You can use whole wheat fusilli for even more nutrition.

The name fusilli comes from fuso, spindle. The shape was traditionally “spun” by skilled pasta makers who rapidly twirled spaghetti around a rod, resulting in a long corkscrew shape called fusilli lunghi bucati.

It is still made in that long shape, along with shorter corkscrews.

This popular shape was born in Sicily and spread throughout southern Italy and the rest of the peninsula.

One reason why: The corkscrew curves are great sauce catchers and easily hold thick meat sauces, like Bolognese sauce.
 
 
RECIPE: FUSILLI WITH CANNELLINI BEANS & KALE

Want more green? Add broccoli, broccolini or broccoli rabe.

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. COOL the pasta according to package directions. Drain, reserving ½ cup of the pasta cooking liquid. Meanwhile…

2. HEAT the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Reduce the heat and add the garlic and anchovies. Simmer on low for 20 minutes. While the mixture is still warm, add the butter.

3. RETURN the heat level to medium and add the tomatoes. Cook for 6-7 minutes, stir in the red pepper flakes, and then add the kale.

4. COVER and cook for 10 more minutes, until the kale is tender and wilted.

5. ADD the beans, pasta (and some of the pasta water if needed for thinning), salt and pepper. Toss, plate, and serve with grated parmesan cheese.
 
 
MORE GREEN RECIPES

 
>>> CHECK OUT THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF PASTA
IN OUR PASTA GLOSSARY >>>

OK, a green-topped pizza is not just for St. Patrick’s Day. You can go green any time you’d like a pizza with assorted green veggies.

Think green for spring; green for summer; green for National Pizza Month, October; and green for National Pizza Day in the [typically] cold, gray weather of February 9th.

Depending on the green vegetable, you’ll get supplies of calcium, iron, magnesium and potassium, and vitamins K, C, E, and many of the B vitamins.

Do the healthy and nutritious green vegetables offset the carbs in the crust?

Well…it doesn’t hurt to think so.

The recipe for Brussels Sprouts & Broccolini Pizza is below.
 
 
GO GREEN WITH THESE VEGETABLES

Top your pizza with a selection of these green veggies:

In The Oven

 
After The Pizza Comes Out Of The Oven…

Toss these on top:

 
There are others, including the not-very-green artichoke hearts and fennel.

And if you want to go super-green, tint ricotta cheese with green food color.
 
 
RECIPE: BRUSSELS SPROUTS & BROCCOLINI PIZZA WITH PESTO

This is an easy weeknight recipe.

If you can’t find broccolini, then broccoli rabe or regular broccoli florets and their stems (yes, slice the stems like pepperoni!) do just fine.

Broccoli and Brussels sprouts are both better-for-you cruciferous vegetables and the basil pesto adds antioxidant vitamins and phenolics, calcium, dietary fiber, magnesium, potassium, vitamin K, zinc, and protein from the cheese and nuts in the pesto.

You can substitute any of the vegetables in the recipe above for the broccolini and Brussels Sprouts.

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. PREHEAT the oven to 500°F. If you’re using ready-made dough, skip to Step 4.

2. COMBINE the flour mix and yeast packet in a large mixing bowl with 1-1/4 cups lukewarm water. Stir with a fork until dough begins to form. Knead by hand for 3 minutes, or until the dough is soft and smooth.

3. TRANSFER to a clean, lightly oiled bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Allow the dough to rise in a warm place until doubled, about 45 minutes. (After this step, you can refrigerate for use within 1-3 days.) Meanwhile…

4. BRING 2 cups of water to a boil in a saucepot. Add 1 tablespoon of salt. Blanch the broccolini by submerging in the boiling water for about 3 minutes. Once they are bright green, remove them with a slotted spoon and transfer immediately to a bowl of ice water to halt the cooking process. SAVE the boiling water.

5. BLANCH the Brussels sprouts in the same pot of boiling water, by submerging for about 2 minutes. Once they are bright green, drain and transfer them to a separate bowl of ice water. Once vegetables have cooled, drain and pat dry.

6. CUT the prepared pizza dough in half. Roll out the dough into a circle on a floured surface and spread evenly with pesto. Top with mozzarella, broccolini and Brussels sprouts.

7. BAKE for 12-15 minutes, or until the crust becomes golden. Remove the pizza from the oven and top with the Parmigiano-Reggiano and pepper flakes.
 
 
>>> GREEN GODDESS PIZZA RECIPE <<<
 
 
>>> THE HISTORY OF PIZZA <<<

[1] A harbinger of spring: asparagus and spring peas (photo © Oath Pizza).

[2] Avocado lovers can slice or dice avocado, here atop serrano ham (photo © Avocados From Chile).

[3] Brussels sprouts and broccolini top this green pizza. The recipe is at below (photo and recipe © DeLallo.

[4] Another harbinger of spring: pea shoots and green peas (photo © King Arthur Flour).

[5] One of our favorite toppings for a Margarita pizza: arugula (photo © Good Eggs).

[6] Here’s the recipe for this Green Goddess Pizza © (photo © Broma Bakery | DeLallo.