Cucumber Margarita
This recipe is from the BBC Good Food Show Summer 2022, as seen in the Big Kitchen.
Grow your own cucumbers to add flavour to your Valentine’s cocktail, with tips from our friends at BBC Good Food Show Summer. Crisp and refreshing, we’ve got the perfect recipe to use your cucumber in for a romantic evening in.
Serves 6
Ingredients
- 210g cucumber, peeled, deseeded and cut into pieces, plus extra sticks to decorate
- 130ml tequila
- 60ml orange liqueur
- 150g granulated sugar
- 3 limes, peeled, white pith removed and deseeded, plus 1 extra lime wedge
Method
- Prepare each salt-rimmed cocktail glass by rubbing the glass rim with a lime wedge, turning the glass upside down and twisting it into a saucer of 1-2tbsp fine sea salt.
- Put the cucumber, tequila, orange liqueur, sugar and limes into the mixing bowl and blend for 30 seconds/speed 8. Add 500g ice cubes and blend again for 1 in/speed 10. Serve in salt-rimmed cocktail glasses, decorated with cucumber sticks.
Grow your own cucumbers
In the warmer months, basil is the perfect addition to your windowsill or vegetable patch, and packs fantastic flavours for summer dishes.
Read on below for tips on growing basil from our friends at BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine and to find out more about a delicious one-pan lemon sole recipe, using your basil, from the BBC Good Food Show Summer in 2022.
Sowing
To kickstart cucumber seed germination, ensure a minimum temperature of 20°C. Optimal spots include a greenhouse, heated propagator, or a sunny windowsill. Use 5cm pots filled with peat-free compost, sowing seeds vertically or on their sides, 1-2cm deep. Expect sprouting in 7-10 days, then thin out to one seedling per pot. Transfer them to 9cm pots once they sport their first set of large leaves.
For outdoor planting, wait until late May or June when frost risk diminishes. Warm the soil by covering with a cloche or fleece post-planting.
Caring for cucmbers
In the greenhouse, ensure regular watering and mulch soil for moisture retention and weed control. Maintain humidity by damping down or misting plants. Consider partitioning sections for enhanced humidity.
Feed flowering cucumbers weekly with high potash fertiliser. Remove male flowers to prevent bitterness in fruits. Pinch out growing tips for side shoot development and bigger yields. Outdoor varieties also require ample watering but retain both male and female flowers for natural pollination.
For outdoor cucumbers, pinch out growing tips after seven leaves and train side shoots upwards or allow them to trail. Trim flowerless tips once they reach seven leaves.
Harvest
Harvest cucumbers around 12 weeks after planting, starting in midsummer. Pick regularly to encourage more growth. Outdoor types yield until September, while greenhouse varieties can last into October in warm conditions. Fruit length varies by type. Harvest as needed to avoid bitterness and tough skins. For best results, pick in the cool morning hours. Use secateurs or a sharp knife. Some longer varieties can be halved on the plant for later use.
