Swedish Cucumbers

  • I came across this recipe in a fellow bloggers post.
  • Her blog is Thistes & Kiwis – about life in Wellington, New Zealand.
  • This lady is half Polish, has lived in Scotland and Sweden –
  • She now lives in New Zealand.
  • I did a little research around this recipe and have adjusted it slightly.
  • I tested this out on one of my Polish friends – she thought it was super and has been making it already.
  • Now cucumbers – ogórki – are well loved in Poland.
  • They are usually the short knobbly ones, which you do not find often in England.
  • They are fermented or pickled in Poland.
  • This recipe uses what are known as salad cucumbers –
  • These are the ones most commonly found for sale or grown in gardens in England.
  • *
  • This dish is called pressgurka – a word which has similarities to English and Polish. (press and ogórki)
  • In Sweden it is often served with meatloat – klops or meat patties – kotlety.
  • I did not have any cooking when I was making this but I am sure it would be wonderful.
  • I served it with warm cooked liver and with egg mayonaise and anchovy sandwiches.
  • You could describe this as sweet & sour.
  • It will keep for a few days in the fridge should you have any left.
  • As my amounts are for 1 cucumber – I would make this afresh when needed.
  • Use a mandoline to cut or the side of a grater or a cheese slicer.
  • If you are good at cutting very thin slices then cut the cucumber with a sharp knife.

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 salad cucumber
  • Large pinch of salt
  • 2 tablespoons of sugar
  • 3 tablespoons of white wine or cider vinegar
  • 4 tablespoons of water
  • *
  • Can add some dill flowerheads or caraway seeds at the end

METHOD

  • Peel about half of the skin off the cucumber – lengthwise.
  • Slice the cucumber very thinly.
  • Place the cucumber on a flat plate.
  • Sprinkle with a large pinch of salt.
  • Place a piece of kitchen roll on top.
  • Plate another flat plate on top and put some weights on this (or a couple of tins).
  • Leave this for at least 30 minutes.
  • Remove the kitchen roll.
  • Put the cucumbers into a large sieve and remove the liquid.
  • Dry up the cucumbers with some more kitchen roll or use a clean tea towel.
  • Put the cucumbers into a bowl.
  • Put the sugar, vinegar and water into a small pan and heat gently until the sugar has dissoved.
  • Simmer a minute.
  • Pour the mixture over the cucumbers and stir well.
  • Leave until cool before serving.
  • *
  • Put any leftovers into a lided jar – can keep for a day or two.

Bavaria china dish, Meakin plate & Royal Doulton plate.

Spiced Pears

I have two pear trees in the garden and this year I have had the best crop of pears ever,  both in number and size of pear.

As I do not have a place to store the fruit that is cool and dry enough,  I was looking for recipes to use the pears.

I tried this popular recipe from my great Polish standby recipe book but I found it too acidic.  I adjusted the recipe and used less vinegar and more sugar and this I find to be much better.

Ingredients

  • 1.5 kg of hard pears such as Conference
  • 300ml of water
  • 300ml of cider or white wine vinegar
  • 500g of granulated sugar
  • 8 cloves
  • 8 grains of allspice
  • Piece of cinnamon bark

Method

Clean and sterilise 2 large glass jars.

Peel and core the pears and cut into large pieces.

Put the water, sugar and spices into a large pan and gently bring to the boil making sure the sugar is all dissolved.

Add the pears and bring back to the boil,  then gently simmer until the pears are soft and translucent.

Using a slotted spoon remove the pears and divide them between the jars.

To the liquid remaining in the pan add the vinegar and bring to the boil.

Leave this on a gently boil for around 5 minutes and then leave to cool.

Use a funnel to pour the liquid over the pears.

When the jars are cold put on the lids.

Store in a cool dry place or in a fridge.

Serve with hot roasts or cold meats, smoked sausages and cheeses.

The pears can be chopped into small pieces and used in various salads.

The spiced liquid can be used in salad dressings or in marinades for meat.