Elise these are called Lebanese cucumbers in NZ.

I'm also a Sacramento resident and I'm wondering about the Iranian market you mention here. Mind telling me the name and/or location? I recently started cooking some Iranian dishes and there are a few ingredients that are hard to find.

Also, this salad sounds great!

Thanks!

Give me this salad with a pita and some hummus and I'm set...looks great I will def. be trying this one.

This looks delicious! And if you use reduced fat feta it's Phase 1 South Beach Diet-friendly!

Hi Barbara - Lebanese cucumbers? Ah, good to know, thank you.

Hi Lydia - Leave it to Costco. They even carry oxtails on occasion. Thanks for letting us know.

Hi Telesilla - A large market called "Eve's" has just opened up at the corner of Walnut and Marconi in Carmichael. The people running it are Iranian so they have a lot of foods and spices from the Middle East. They are billing themselves as a Whole Foods, but a lot cheaper. Great store, though I don't think the location is the best for them.

Hi Sara - I so don't trust reduced fat anything. They usually put carb heavy fillers in those, btw. Better to use a lot less feta in my opinion.

Hi Elise, I've been reading your posts for some time now, and enjoying them a lot. Being a persian girl, it felt so good hearing about the persian cucumber and that you liked them. Other then thin skin and not much seeds, they have such aroma that I haven't smelled in any other kind of cucumber. By the way, in our tranditional cucumber salad, we have tomato instead of radishes. Thanks for giving me such a good feeling...

My aunt and uncle are coming to vist this weekend. I intend on putting their housewarming gift (a BBQ) into action with some greek souvlaki. This will be a wonderful accompaniment. Thank you. :)

I just wanted to comment - for anyone growing a garden, go with Armenian cukes next year. I grew them last year for the first time, and I'm converted! These plants just bear and bear - VERY long and nicely shaped/tasting cucumbers.

We start them from seed in late February, early March inside, and transplant them mid April. This looks like a similar version of a recipe we love. Gonna try it tonight with yesterday's harvest. Thanks!

We buy these cucumber in Russian stores/markets here in Dallas. They are the only cucumbers we had in Russia, so I didn't know they had a different name. Also, as far as that bulgarian white cheese, I think it's a bit too watery for these sort of recipes. That's just my opinion, of course. Thanks for the recipe!

Great recipe! I shall have to try that!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE any kind of cucumber salad and what I like best to use and grow a lot are little pickling cukes which are sweet and thin skinned no need to peel and very tiny seeds! also have grown the seedless cukes as well as the Japanese before too they need very little room (a large patio pot works well even if no garden space!) anyway a thought if unable to find the seedless cukes could use the pickling ones too! thanks for the recipe though allergic to mint I use basil and dill with mine!! thanks so much LOVE your recipes!! Hugs Linda

As a Leb, I will second that they are widely available in the Middle East--but I'd never heard they were called Lebanese cukes...come to think of it, I'd never seen anything but these cukes until I left Lebanon, so perhaps that moniker is accurate... I also wanted to stress they are indeed available at Trader Joe's, called "Persian-style Cucumbers" and at good ole Costco. IMHO, they're the only cukes worth eating anyway. Thanks for yet another fabulous recipe, Elise.

Hi again Leisure Guy - I just remembered something. If the cucumber is bitter, by all means soak it in salt water to see if you can get rid of some of the bitterness. We had some Armenian cucumbers last night; one was perfect, the other was so bitter it ruined the dish. It pays to taste the cucumber before it gets mixed up in a salad.

Hay,

Nice bokeh. mMmmmm, bokeh.

Biggles

Elise, I buy these often around Sac. TJ's often has them, though that's the last resort. The Yolo Fruit Market (Davis side of the Causeway) also carries them - along with a reasonable selection of Iranian/Persian foodstuff. Finally, one of the southernmost vendors at the X Street farmer's market on Sunday carries lots of them this time of year. The vendor also sells the super-thin Japanese-style cucs used for tsukemono, which are also delicious. Cheers!

I just posted a comment about Armenian cucumbers but just now read the first part of the recipe which suggests trying Armenian cukes. The thing about Armenian cucumbers is that they need to be harvested young. If harvested young enough the skin is almost fuzzy soft, "like a baby's bottom", & the seeds are so undeveloped as to be 100% as crisp & edible as the rest of the melon, which is what the genetics tell us it really is.
On a related note, I have even used unripe watermelon, peeled, as cucumber, when a baby watermelon was accidentally severed from the vine! It would seem most cucurbits (family of plants including cucumber, melon, squash, pumpkin, watermelon, & gourds) have some similar taste profiles from the start. Salúd! Tommy