Charred cucumber with miso crème fraiche

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This simple dish of pickled, charred cucumbers with miso and crème fraiche is a fantastic little side, snack or starter to serve when entertaining. The crushed peanuts add plenty of texture, and all the flavours work in perfect harmony together. Read more about Ollie and see his other recipes here.

First published in 2019

Ingredients

Metric

Imperial

Pickling liquor

  • 100g of rice vinegar
  • 25g of caster sugar
  • 10g of soy sauce

Equipment

  • Blowtorch

Method

1
Make the pickling liquor by placing the sugar, rice vinegar and soy sauce in a pan over a low heat. When the sugar has dissolved, remove from the heat and allow to cool
2
While the liquor is cooling, preheat an oven to 180°C/gas mark 4. Place the peanuts in a small ovenproof dish and roast for 15–20 minutes until golden. Transfer to a pestle and mortar and roughly crush
3
Cut the cucumbers in half lengthways and place in the pickling liquor. Cover and place in the fridge to pickle overnight
4
The next day, mix the crème fraiche with the miso (you may need to add a splash of water if it’s too thick)
5
To serve, use a blowtorch to char the flat side of the pickled cucumbers until blackened. Halve them lengthways again, then place 3 sticks on the side of each plate. Spread miso on the other half of the plate and top with the crushed peanuts
First published in 2019

Brought up in Spain, Ollie Templeton moved back to the UK as a teenager to pursue a career as a chef. After cutting his teeth in the kitchen at Moro, he set up Carousel – a restaurant and creative hub in London – along with his brother and cousins, where he both serves his own menu and hosts an ever-changing line-up of guest chefs.

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