Chef Juliette
Suet Dumpling
Boulettes au suif, poached beside salt beef, turn equal weights of flour and finely chopped suet into tender, rich dumplings. Keep the beef liquor at a bare tremble and the old garnish works beautifully at home.
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Cucumber and Vegetable Marrow (Concombres et Courgettes)
Created by Chef Juliette
Based on No. 2121, Cucumber and Vegetable Marrow (Concombres et Courgettes), from Le Guide Culinaire (1907) by Auguste Escoffier
Concombres and courgettes meet the same disciplined sequence: even shaping, a brief parboil, thorough drying, and a gentle butter finish that leaves every piece tender, distinct, and ready beside supper.
Side Dishes
French
Weeknight
Quick Meal
Budget Friendly
15 min
Active Time
10 min cook•25 min total
Yield4 servings
Concombres et courgettes teach one clean principle: vegetables carrying this much water must be cooked in stages. One true thing before you touch a pan: wet vegetables cannot glaze. Shape them evenly, parboil them only until nearly tender, dry them without mercy, then finish them gently in butter.
The source entry assumed a grand kitchen with a garnish cook performing tournage, the knife-work that turns dozens of vegetables into identical ovals, and pans of salted water always ready. At home, elaborate tournage is brigade scaffolding, so regular batons take its place and one saucepan serves both vegetables in sequence. What stays is the dish itself: even shaping, brief parboiling, careful draining, and real butter. Equal trimmed weights make four generous portions for one cook, one stove, one evening.
Watch the parboil above all. Each piece should bend slightly while retaining a firm heart; once it slumps, no skillet can restore its shape. Lift it into cold water at the first sign of softness, then shorten the butter finish. The final dish should glisten, not swim.
Concombres et courgettes belong less to one province than to the classical Parisian kitchen, where uniformly cut vegetables were prepared as garnitures for poached fish, veal, poultry, and composed entrées. Cooked cucumber was never a contradiction in that canon: blanching softens its raw edge, while a final turn in butter gives it the same quiet usefulness as young courgette. The method passed easily from grand service to cuisine bourgeoise because its essential equipment is only a saucepan, a skillet, and a cook willing to drain well.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
medium seedless cucumbers
Quantity
2 (about 1 lb / 450 g)
peeled, halved lengthwise, and seeds removed if large
small courgettes
Quantity
4 (about 1 lb / 450 g)
trimmed
water
Quantity
2 quarts (8 cups / 1.9 L / 1.9 kg)
for parboiling
fine sea salt
Quantity
1 tablespoon (15 ml / 18 g), plus ¼ teaspoon (1.25 ml / 1.5 g)
divided between the parboiling water and finishing
unsalted butter
Quantity
3 tablespoons (45 ml / 42 g)
divided
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| medium seedless cucumberspeeled, halved lengthwise, and seeds removed if large | 2 (about 1 lb / 450 g) |
| small courgettestrimmed | 4 (about 1 lb / 450 g) |
| waterfor parboiling | 2 quarts (8 cups / 1.9 L / 1.9 kg) |
| fine sea saltdivided between the parboiling water and finishing | 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 18 g), plus ¼ teaspoon (1.25 ml / 1.5 g) |
| unsalted butterdivided | 3 tablespoons (45 ml / 42 g) |
Equipment Needed
- •3-quart saucepan
- •12-inch wide skillet
- •Slotted spoon
- •Clean kitchen towels
Instructions
- 1
Shape the vegetables
Cut the prepared cucumbers into batons about 2 inches (5 cm) long and ½ inch (1.25 cm) thick. Cut the courgettes to the same dimensions, leaving their green skin in place. Uniformity matters more than ornament: pieces of one size reach tenderness together, which is the practical purpose behind classical tournage.
If you have a large mature vegetable marrow rather than small courgettes, peel it and remove the fibrous, seedy center before cutting. Its flesh is softer, so give it only about one minute in the boiling water. - 2
Parboil in sequence
Bring the measured water and 1 tablespoon of salt to a full boil. Add the concombres and cook for about 2 minutes after the water returns to the boil, until a baton bends slightly but still resists at its center. Lift them immediately into a bowl of cold water. Return the saucepan to the boil, add the courgettes, and cook for about 90 seconds before cooling them the same way. If the edges begin to soften or slump, get the vegetables into cold water at once and shorten their later butter finish; the cooling stops the damage before it travels inward.
- 3
Dry without mercy
Drain the vegetables thoroughly, spread them over a clean kitchen towel in one layer, and blot the tops with a second towel. Leave them for 5 minutes if time permits. This drying is not brigade fussiness; it is the hinge of the dish. Water left on the surface dilutes the butter and turns the skillet into a poaching pan.
- 4
Finish in butter
Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a wide skillet over medium-low heat. When it foams, add the vegetables in one uncrowded layer and turn them gently for 2 to 3 minutes, just until heated through and coated with a thin butter glaze. They are already nearly cooked, so this stage is for gloss, not browning. If liquid collects in the skillet, lift the vegetables onto a plate and let the water cook away until only butter remains, then return them for 30 seconds. Ça se rattrape.
- 5
Season and serve
Take the skillet off the heat and roll in the remaining tablespoon of cold butter, turning the vegetables carefully so it melts into a fresh, even sheen. Season with the remaining ¼ teaspoon salt, taste, and transfer immediately to a warm serving dish. Serve beside poached fish, roast chicken, veal, or a plain omelette. Cooking well is not cooking fancy. À table!
Chef Tips
- •Choose firm seedless cucumbers and small courgettes with taut skins. Large, cottony vegetables shed more water and lose their shape; they belong in a soup or braise, not this garnish.
- •The parboil and thorough drying must stay. The elaborate tournage can go, but these two steps bring both vegetables to the same tenderness before butter touches the pan.
- •Use the widest skillet you own. Crowding traps water around the vegetables, while a broad surface lets the butter cling in a thin glaze.
- •Leftovers keep for 2 days in the cold. Reheat them briefly in a dry skillet with a small knob of butter, stopping as soon as their surfaces regain their sheen.
Advance Preparation
- •The vegetables can be shaped, parboiled, cooled, and dried up to 8 hours ahead. Refrigerate them in one layer between clean towels, then finish them in butter just before serving.
- •Do not complete the butter finish in advance. The vegetables continue softening as they stand, and the clear butter gloss dulls in the cold.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 200g)
Calories
110 calories
Total Fat
9 g
Saturated Fat
6 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
3 g
Cholesterol
23 mg
Sodium
240 mg
Total Carbohydrates
5 g
Dietary Fiber
2 g
Sugars
4 g
Protein
2 g
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