Chillied Cucumber Pickle

Our garden is producing at veritable flood of cucumbers. While trying to find some ways in which they can be used up, I remembered some tapas I had a few years ago in Barcelona. One of them was a kind of chilli pickle with slices of cucumber, which tasted delicious. Here is how I tried to recreate that dish.

What you need

• 3 to 4 cucumbers, peeled and cut into thin slices
• salt
• 2 cloves of garlic, pressed
• freshly ground pepper
• one or two red chilies, without pips and cut into tiny pieces
• white wine vinegar
• sugar
• one sprig of tarragon, one sprig of peppermint, chopped finely

What you do

Arrange the slices of cucumber on a plate or a flat serving dish and sprinkle liberally with salt. Leave to stand for two hours.

In a sieve wash the salt off cucumbers and allow them to drain.

Grind fresh pepper over the cucumbers, add the chilies and the garlic and mix well.

Put in to a screw top jar and top up with white wine vinegar.

Add sugar until the sourness of the wine vinegar is neutralised.

Add the herbs, shake well and leave to stand overnight. The cucumbers are ready to eat the next day, the next week or the following month.