It would be easy to dismiss cucumbers as inconsequential–or fodder for jokes–in a world so taken with trendy vegetables like white asparagus or broccoli rabe. But they deserve a whole lot of respect for the role they play at tables around the world and ethnic eateries here in Chicago.
That cucumbers are mostly water–more than 90 percent, which puts them in the same league as watermelon and lettuce–gives them a refreshing quality. Their crispness adds a crunchy texture to meals. And their mild flavor makes them a natural mate for herbs ranging from dill to mint.
In Thai restaurants, the grilled flavors of satay and its rich peanut sauce play off the cool, tanginess of a cucumber salad. Japanese eateries often do a sesame seed-sprinkled cucumber salad. And restaurants starring Middle Eastern fare usually have a cucumber-and-yogurt mix called tzatziki on the menu, while Indian restaurants may serve raita, a similar pairing sometimes flavored with mint.
One of our favorite cucumber salads is a regular on the menus of many Greek restaurants. It’s called horiatiki–or village salad–and features cucumber slices, along with tomato chunks, onions, black Greek olives, green pepper slices and feta cheese. A hearty version is served at Roditys (222 S. Halsted St., 312-454-0800), where the vegetables are colorful, the texture crisp and the whole assemblage dressed with a wonderfully tangy oil-and-vinegar mix, heavily seasoned with oregano ($4).
One of the most popular ways to dress cucumbers, of course, is with a sweet-and-sour dressing, with vinegar usually providing the sour and sugar, its touch of sweetness.
At Wikstrom’s Gourmet Foods and Catering (5247 N. Clark St., 773-275-6100), the sweet-and-sour cucumber salad is studded with whole cloves. The spice adds just the slightest accent to a very sweet and only slightly tangy dressing for the sliced cucumber and white onion combo ($3.99 a pound).
The Polish version of a sweet-and-sour cucumber salad available at Kasia’s Deli (2101 W. Chicago Ave., 773-486-7500) is not as sweet as the Swedish version, but loaded with green onions ($1.69). Our favorite at Kasia’s, though, is the cucumber and sour cream salad ($1.79 a pound). The slightly tangy and rich sour cream, flecked with a bit of black pepper, makes a nice contrast to the cool cucumber.
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Horiatiki
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What it is: Cucumber, onion, tomato, olive and feta salad
How to say it: hor-ee-YAH-tee-kee
What it costs: $4
How to say thank you: Efcharisto (ef-khah-ree-STUH)