So, in a fit of enthusiasm….. or perhaps over-zealous fear of germs, you have set the fridge a bit too low. And anything touching any of the walls of the fridge had gone limp and watery. The basil has turned black, and the cucumber bends in the middle.
The basil is a lost cause. But the cucumber is not.
What can you do?
The texture of it has changed so trying anything involving keeping it in its original form, or trying to slice it will not be successful.
Blending is the only answer. You can either make a dressing… or you can make a cold soup, using almost the same ingredients.
This also works for overly elderly cucumbers.
Recipe for mistakenly-frozen cucumber dressing
Ingredients
1 half-frozen and floppy sad-looking cucumber
2 tbsp of white balsamic condiment; or a tablespoon of either white wine vinegar or lemon juice
6 tbsps Greek yoghurt
1 fat clove of garlic, peeled and crushed with half a tsp of salt
Some generous grinds of black pepper
A handful of dill, ideally fresh
Instructions
Put all the ingredients in the blender. Blitz.
Taste, and adjust the seasoning accordingly.
Recipe for chilled mistakenly-frozen cucumber soup
Serves – 4
Ingredients
2 cucumbers
360 ml/1½ cups Greek yoghurt
Zest and juice of a small lemon
1 fat clove of garlic, peeled and crushed with half a teaspoon of textured salt
Handful of dill, ideally fresh… and some additional other leafy fresh herbs if you have them – parsley, mint, tarragon…
60 ml/4 tbsps walnut oil, plus a bit more for drizzling
1 radish and/or toasted walnuts for garnish
Instructions
Blend everything together, except the lemon zest and the radish. Refrigerate to chill.
Serve, drizzled with the oil and garnished with chopped toasted walnuts, lemon zest, and/or finely sliced radish.