Cucumber is a widely-cultivated creeping vine plant in the Cucurbitaceae gourd family that bears cucumiform fruits, which are used as vegetables.[1] There are three main varieties of cucumber—slicing, pickling, and burpless/seedless—within which several cultivars have been created. There are many ways you can enjoy cucumbers: raw in salads as a side with your meals, fermented as a pickle, or in vegetable juices.
Nutritional benefits
• Help to stay hydrated
• Support heart health
• Protect brain from neurological diseases
• Protect the skin against the effects of aging
• Fight inflammation in the body and reduce the risk of cancer
• Relieve pain
• Reduce bad breath
• Helps strengthen the bones
• Prevent constipation
• Maintain a healthy weight
Availability:
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |||||||||||
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Common Recipes
Cod with cucumber, avocado & mango salsa salad
Ingredients
• 2 x skinless cod fillets
• 1 lime , zested and juiced
• 1 small mango , peeled, stoned and chopped (or 2 peaches, stoned and chopped)
• 1 small avocado , stoned, peeled and sliced
• ¼ cucumber, chopped
• 160g cherry tomatoes , quartered
• 1 red chilli , deseeded and chopped
• 2 spring onions , sliced
• handful chopped coriander
Method
• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Put the fish in a shallow ovenproof dish and pour over half the lime juice, with a little of the zest, then grind over some black pepper. Bake for 8 minutes or until the fish flakes easily but is still moist.
• Meanwhile, put the rest of the ingredients, plus the remaining lime juice and zest, in a bowl and combine well. Spoon onto plates and top with the cod, spooning over any juices in the dish.
