Chef Juliette
Mayonnaise de Volaille
Cold roast chicken, ciseled lettuce, and a shining coat of homemade mayonnaise, arranged with capers, olives, anchovies, eggs, and lettuce hearts, then tossed at the table as the canon intends.
Culinary Explorer
A cooking platform built around craft, culture, and the stories behind what we eat.
Cucumber and Pimento Salad
Created by Chef Juliette
Based on No. 332, Cucumber and Pimento Salad, from Le Guide Culinaire (1907) by Auguste Escoffier
Curved cucumber ribbons meet an equal measure of sweet red pimento, with oil and vinegar doing no more than sharpening their freshness. The spiral cut is the flourish, and crisp texture is the discipline.
Salads
French
Weeknight
Picnic
Make Ahead
25 min
Active Time
0 min cook•1 hr total
Yield4 servings
Salade de concombres aux piments (cucumber and pimento salad) teaches the discipline of a composed salad: shape first, water under control, seasoning light enough that the vegetables remain themselves. The oil and vinegar are not there to hide anything. Before you touch the knife, know one true thing: a wet cucumber dilutes its own vinaigrette, so salt it briefly and dry it thoroughly.
The original entry assumed a garde-manger cook who could turn cucumber cylinders into spirals by hand, judge an equal quantity of pimento by eye, and reach without instruction for the house seasoning used on cucumber salad. At home, a sharp paring knife, a measuring cup, and a small whisk do the same work for four. The brigade's unspoken quantities are scaffolding and can go; the spiral cut, equal measure of pimento, and plain oil-and-vinegar dressing are the dish and must stay. No saucier, stockpot, or salamander has any business here. One cook, one stove, one evening, and the stove stays cold.
When it is right, pale cucumber curls and scarlet pimento strips lie together under the lightest sheen, crisp against tender, tart but not sharp. The spiral looks grander than it is. Keep the blade shallow, turn the cucumber steadily, and remember that the first coil is practice, not judgment.
Salade de concombres aux piments belongs to the national French garde-manger and the bourgeois table, not to any single province: precise cutting gave plain vegetables the form and balance of a composed salad. In grand kitchens it passed from the cold pantry to hors-d'œuvre service, while home cooks kept the equal measure with a knife, bowl, and preserved sweet peppers. Piment here means a mild red pepper, not chile heat; the spiral cut is the distinguishing work, while the oil-and-vinegar seasoning remains deliberately plain.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
very fresh medium cucumbers
Quantity
2, enough for 2 cups (480 ml / 320 g) after peeling
cut into 2-inch (5 cm) lengths, spiral-cut, then cut diametrically
whole sweet red pimientos packed in water
Quantity
2 cups (480 ml / 320 g)
drained and cut into strips
fine sea salt
Quantity
1¼ teaspoons (6 ml / 7 g)
divided
red wine vinegar
Quantity
1 tablespoon (15 ml / 15 g)
grapeseed or sunflower oil
Quantity
3 tablespoons (45 ml / 41 g)
finely ground white pepper
Quantity
⅛ teaspoon (0.6 ml / 0.3 g)
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| very fresh medium cucumberscut into 2-inch (5 cm) lengths, spiral-cut, then cut diametrically | 2, enough for 2 cups (480 ml / 320 g) after peeling |
| whole sweet red pimientos packed in waterdrained and cut into strips | 2 cups (480 ml / 320 g) |
| fine sea saltdivided | 1¼ teaspoons (6 ml / 7 g) |
| red wine vinegar | 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 15 g) |
| grapeseed or sunflower oil | 3 tablespoons (45 ml / 41 g) |
| finely ground white pepper | ⅛ teaspoon (0.6 ml / 0.3 g) |
Equipment Needed
- •3 to 4-inch (8 to 10 cm) sharp paring knife
- •Dinner fork or small carving fork for holding the cucumber
- •Nonslip cutting board
- •Medium colander and clean kitchen towels
- •Small whisk and wide mixing bowl
Instructions
- 1
Cut the pimentos
Open the drained pimientos flat and remove any stray seeds or thick membranes. Blot them thoroughly, then cut them into curved or straight strips about 2 inches (5 cm) long and ¼ inch (6 mm) wide. Keep the strips loose rather than stacking them into a compact heap; dry, distinct pieces take the vinaigrette cleanly.
- 2
Turn cucumber spirals
Peel the cucumbers and cut them crosswise into 2-inch (5 cm) cylinders. Stand one cylinder on a nonslip board and press a dinner fork into the centre of its top as a handle. Hold a sharp paring knife vertically at the outer edge, with its tip against the board, then rotate the cucumber slowly against the blade while easing the cut inward. Aim for a continuous sheet about ⅛ inch (3 mm) thick, working from the periphery toward the centre. Let the sheet recoil loosely, then cut once straight across its diameter, through the centre of the coil, to release curved strips. Keep your fork hand above the blade. If the sheet tears, overlap the pieces into a loose coil and make the same central cut. Ça se rattrape, and the curved strips will still appear.
- 3
Salt and dry
Measure 2 cups (480 ml / 320 g) of cucumber strips, then set aside exactly the same volume of pimento strips. Toss only the cucumber with 1 teaspoon (5 ml / 6 g) of the salt and leave it in a colander for 15 minutes. Rinse briefly under very cold water, drain without squeezing, and spread the strips between clean towels until their surfaces feel dry. This is the discipline of the dish: cucumber water left on the ribbons will dilute the vinaigrette and leave a puddle beneath the salad.
- 4
Whisk the vinaigrette
Whisk the red wine vinegar with the remaining ¼ teaspoon (1 ml / 1 g) salt and the white pepper until the salt dissolves. Add the oil in a thin stream, whisking until the vinaigrette, a temporary emulsion, looks lightly thickened. It may separate while it waits; whisk it again before dressing. Mustard would hold the emulsion longer, but it would change the plain seasoning specified for this salad, so it stays out.
- 5
Compose the salad
Place the equal measures of cucumber and pimento in a wide bowl. Whisk the vinaigrette again, pour in three quarters of it, and fold gently with two spoons so the curved cucumber strips remain intact. Let the salad stand for 5 minutes, then look beneath it. It should glisten without swimming. If watery dressing has collected, lift the vegetables into a clean bowl, discard the diluted liquid, and fold in the reserved vinaigrette. Taste before adding the last drops, since preserved pimientos carry their own salt.
- 6
Chill and serve
Cover and chill the salad for 20 minutes, just long enough for the vinegar to sharpen the vegetables without softening them. Fold it once more and arrange it generously on a shallow platter, keeping the pale cucumber arcs and scarlet pimento strips equally visible. Serve within 4 hours while the cucumber still has a clean bite. À table!
Chef Tips
- •Choose firm, medium slicing cucumbers with tight seed beds. Oversized cucumbers tend to split at their watery centres, which makes the continuous spiral difficult and leaves the salad wetter.
- •Buy whole sweet red pimientos packed in water or their own mild brine. Garlic-marinated or oil-packed peppers bring seasonings the source never asked for; drain the plain ones and blot them without mercy.
- •The spiral cut is easier with a short, very sharp paring knife and a fork used as a handle. A vegetable peeler makes broad straight ribbons, which misses the curved cut that defines this entry.
- •For a picnic, carry the salad in a cold insulated container and keep it out of direct sun. Give it one gentle fold before serving, never a vigorous toss that breaks the cucumber curls.
Advance Preparation
- •The pimientos can be drained, dried, and cut up to 2 days ahead. Refrigerate them in a covered container with a dry towel beneath them.
- •The vinaigrette keeps for 3 days in a sealed jar in the refrigerator. Let the oil lose its chill, then shake or whisk it before use.
- •The cucumber can be spiral-cut, salted, rinsed, and dried up to 4 hours ahead. Keep the strips covered and cold, separate from the pimientos and vinaigrette.
- •The fully dressed salad can wait for up to 4 hours in the refrigerator. Beyond that, the cucumber loses its clean bite and releases more water.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 165g)
Calories
125 calories
Total Fat
11 g
Saturated Fat
1 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
9 g
Cholesterol
0 mg
Sodium
700 mg
Total Carbohydrates
6 g
Dietary Fiber
2 g
Sugars
4 g
Protein
1 g
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