Cetriolo, Cetriolini

The cetriolo, or cucumber, epitomizes summer for me -a salad without cucumber just isn’t a salad. It is a pity that its year-round availability has caused it to become so underrated. The Italian cucumber is shorter than its English counterpart, as Italians prefer varieties like Marketer or Carosello which are not cylindrical, but rounder like their squash relatives. Great care has to be taken when choosing cucumbers, they should not be too big and should be quite hard to the touch. Peeling off the cucumber skin makes it more digestible, as does removing the seeds of larger varieties.