One of these cukes is not like the other. (Left to right: Tasty Jade, Marketmore 76, overripe Diva, ripe Diva.)

Despite best efforts, cucumbers sometimes go unharvested a bit longer than they should. By the time I find them, they’ll be a bit, well, portly. Once they’ve reached that size the seeds can be large and the flesh bitter.

All is NOT lost.

When that happens (and even when it doesn’t) I’ve got a simple fresh salad that shows off your garden produce, goes with just about anything or can be a stand alone dish on a warm summer’s day.

Removing the seeds is an obvious and simple solution to the large seed issue. The bitter taste can be dramatically minimized by allowing the chopped cucumber to then baste with crumbled feta for a short period. If I’ve got a cucumber of unusual size, I will chop it, mix with the feta and allow it to stand for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Portly Cucumber Salad:

2-3 slicing cucumbers, peeled, de-seeded and chopped
8 oz feta, crumbled
2-6 ripe tomatoes, depending upon size and personal preference, chopped
1-4 scallion, depending upon size and personal preference, diced
~3 tablespoons diced parsley
~1 tablespoon olive oil
A few dashes of paprika and a few crunches of black pepper

Optional: 2 vegetarian sausages (I like Tofurkey original Italian) chopped and sauteed in olive oil.

Mix it all together and let it sit for at least 20 minutes for flavors to blend and cucumbers, even if non-portly, to soften.