Cucumbers with Sour Cream Dressing (Mizeria)

Treasured Polish Recipes for Americans, p. 87

2 large cucumbers

Boiling water to cover

½ cup sour cream

1 t salt

1 t sugar

Dash of pepper

1 t chopped dill, optional

1 t chopped chives, optional

1 hard-cooked egg, optional

Lemon juice or vinegar

Wash cucumbers. 

Comparison: Garden-grown cucumber (Thanks, Sandra!) vs. Supermarket cucumber

If they are young with a tender skin and from your garden, do not peel them. Peel others and run a fork lengthwise down the cucumber to a depth of 1/8 inch to make a scallop on each slice. Slice the cucumber so thin that you can see the knife through it while you are slicing.

It takes a TON of patience to slice the cucumbers this thin (and I'll admit I didn't do as good a job as I could have). But it's a nice opportunity to pretend you're a chef at a fancy restaurant.

Cover with boiling water and let stand 10 minutes. Drain and plunge cucumbers into cold water. Drain and set in refrigerator for half hour. Mix sour cream with sugar, pepper and any of the optional ingredients. 

The recipe doesn't really say what to do with the egg, but after cross-referencing other Mizeria recipes I chopped it up well and mixed it in with the dressing.

Salt cucumbers well and combine with sour cream mixture. Correct the tartness with lemon juice or vinegar. Serve cold.

Served with some delicious store-bought cheesy bread.

My Rating: 4/5 "This is really quite refreshing. I couldn't find fresh dill and had to use the dry stuff, but it still added a nice counterpoint to the coolness of the cucumbers and sour cream. (It probably would have been even better with fresh.) Very summery, and very tasty!"