Grilled Cucumbers With Tomato-Cardamom Dressing and Mozzarella Recipe (2024)

I get so mad at recipes that call for something like 7 tbs of olive oil. That gives you 7 chances to make a mistake. Why not just 3.5 (liquid) ounces? Measure once. This recipe calls for another tbs oil later. So measure 1/2 cup and use a little for coating the cucks when grilling.

Does cooking allow one to eat the cardamom shells?

Totally agree. Better yet, give weights for everything and move into modern times already.

Yes. It's wonderful. I am Head of the Dept. of Stupid Questions.

Dept. of Stupid Questions: would this work with a zucchini as well?

Wonderfull flavor combination. Didn't have Persian cucumber, but English cucumber worked well. Used burrata - VG. I am saving the leftovers to go on pasta.

Could one use powdered cardamom, if so how much?

I know that this isn't very helpful, but miso (& other fermented soybean pastes) aren't easily replaced, save with a different fermented soybean paste. They're also incredibly versatile and delicious, white miso most of all, so it's well worth having in your fridge. That said, you can omit it and add a little extra salt when it's used in such a small quantity as it is here.

Does the dressing really require that much oil? Looking at other ingredients, max I would use to cook would be 2 -3. Has anyone already tried reducing? I am all for evoo unctuousness but this seems excessive …

The irony is that in Ottolenghi's country of residence, a cup is 10 oz not 8 oz. So 7 tbls is not, for him, 7/8 of half a cup. It is, I think, 7/20 of a British cup. Thank God he isn't Australian or we would never figure this out!

A number of commented on the cardamom. I believe adding the shells to the oil is a mistake. I put the pods in the pestle, cracked them gently, then separated the seeds from the shells. Seeds were coarsely ground and used in the oil and the shells discarded. For the miso, I simmered it as a blob, then wisked it in the liquid at the end before the cukes were added. I also used larger farmer's market cukes which needed to be cut smaller after grilling. I still retained the skin.

I just looked, 1 cardamom shell is equal to 1/6 of a teaspoon of ground. So, that would mean 1 1/2 teaspoons is equal to 9 yes? I'm bad at math so I'd double check that amount hahaha

In step 1, it says "Add the tomatoes, oil, garlic, miso, bay leaves, cardamom shells and seeds..." so both the shells and seeds are used - as they won't break down much, it seems easy enough to pluck out the shells before serving - they can be a bit fibrous to eat, even cooked.

He says to reserve shells, but he doesn't use them again, I think it was meant to read 'discard'. You can eat shells if ground into oblivion, but they don't taste like much

There are 16 tbsp in one cup, you don’t have to use your table spoon you can use a half cup and don’t fill it to about 7/8 full

The sauce is out of this world!

So good. I made the cukes on my stovetop. As long as you keep oil light and the heat high (and fan ON), it works. Also skipped miso but added one sweet and one hot pepper, chopped, when cooking the garlic/tomato mixture. And used 1.5 tsp of ground cardamom vs 9 pods. I don’t think there’s a good sub for cardamom! Served on a bed of whole grains which sopped up the delicious dressing.

The “excess” oil soaks up the subtle flavours and is marvellous. Use some fresh bread to sop it up!

Definitely only 9 cardamom pods.I grill the cucumbers first, so I can put them in the sauce when it is finishing. Easy to overcook the sauce.

Loved this! I never thought of grilling cukes but this was sublime -- I should have doubled the dressing recipe because we have so many cukes ready to pick in the garden & we’ll eat this over & over!!!

Made this recipe tonight using regular cucumbers, ground cardamom and Caribbean ground bay leaf. It was wonderful! Grilled a couple of lamb chops to go along with it. My husband and I thought we were out to dinner at a five star restaurant! Excellent!

This was unlike any cucumber salad I’ve made before and is definitely worth a try! Made as written.

I can't wait to try this. But when it comes to not wanting cooked cucumbers to be limp, try Julia Child's braised cucumbers with cream. And you don't need the grill.

I don’t understand this recipe. The article talks about standing around a grill, yet he wants us to cook them on a grill pan in the kitchen. The article even talks about putting them on a “griddle“. Which is it? Are we standing around outdoors, or are we praying the smoke alarm does not go off in the kitchen?

When does one one remove the cardamom pods and the bay leaf?

Cardamom shells are tough and typically not eaten. They have a lot of flavor, though, when used either whole or powdered seeds. But it is a delicate flavor and, in my opinion, lost in a dish such as this.

I found this disappointing, but I did make a couple of mistakes. First, I used Armenian cucumbers which are a bit larger and probably less flavorful. The grilling didn't add much. Second, I tried to make it as a light main course; however, despite the rich colors of the dressing it is actually quite mildl and didn't stand up alone.For those wondering about the oddly-specific 7 Tbs of olive oil, that's what you get when an intern converts 100ml. It's a dressing, just read that as ~1/2 C.

Don’t use shells, 1 1/2 t. Ground cardamom

This was interesting, but I'm not sure it was a) worth the effort or b) well represented the variety of ingredients. I followed the instructions and expected something more complex. It was fun to use cardamom pods, but, in the end, it was just ok.

The Tomato-Cardamom dressing is vintage Ottolenghi—outstanding. I would use just that as a bed for roasting some gorgeous halibut filet with a side of perfectly baked Basmati rice (maybe with a few more Cardamom pods/seeds). Didn’t love this dish as is. It was pretty to look at, but the cucumbers didn’t do it for this lover of cucumbers any which-way. The “dressing” is a definite keeper.