Half a cucumber is a very specific kind of leftover. Too much to ignore, not quite enough for anything on its own.
Here are three dinners for one from the 3Onions app that each use cucumber, so the other half already has somewhere to go.
Three dinners that use it up
Cucumber is in all three. Shop once, cook it three ways. Anything left goes into next week’s plan first.
25 min · uses ½ cucumber
Greek chicken pita
Ingredients and steps
Ingredients for one
½ lb chicken breast
1 pita
½ cucumber
1 tomato
2 tbsp feta
½ lemon
From your pantry: salt, black pepper, oil, dried oregano, garlic powder
Steps
Make the salad. Chop the cucumber and tomato and toss with the feta, the juice of half the lemon and a pinch of salt. It gets better as it sits.
Season the chicken. Cut the chicken into thin strips and toss with the rest of the lemon juice, dried oregano, garlic powder, salt and black pepper.
Sear the strips. Cook in a little oil in a hot skillet over medium-high, turning, 5–7 minutes, until golden and the thickest strip reads 165°F.
Stuff the pita. Warm the pita in the pan for 30 seconds a side, then split it open and stuff it with the chicken and salad.
30 min · uses ½ cucumber
Salmon rice bowl
Ingredients and steps
Ingredients for one
½ lb salmon
½ cup rice
½ cucumber
1 tbsp soy sauce
From your pantry: salt, oil, sugar
Steps
Get the rice going. Bring the rice, twice as much water and a pinch of salt to a boil, then cover and simmer on low about 18 minutes. Leave it covered off the heat.
Salt the cucumber. Thinly slice the cucumber and toss it with a pinch of salt and sugar. It turns crisp and lightly pickled while you cook.
Sear the salmon. Pat the salmon dry and season with salt. Cook it in a hot oiled skillet, skin-side down if it has skin, 4–5 minutes, until crisp. Flip and cook 2–4 minutes more, until it flakes easily or reads 145°F.
Build the bowl. Serve the salmon over the rice with the cucumber, and drizzle the soy sauce over the top.
20 min · uses ½ cucumber
Peanut noodles
Ingredients and steps
Ingredients for one
3 oz noodles
2 tbsp peanut butter
1 tbsp soy sauce
½ cucumber
1 carrot
1 green onion
From your pantry: sugar
Steps
Boil the noodles. Cook them in plenty of boiling water until just tender; start tasting a strand after 4 minutes. Save a splash of the hot water before draining.
Prep the crunch. While they cook, cut the cucumber into matchsticks, grate the carrot and slice the green onion.
Make the sauce. Whisk the peanut butter and soy sauce with a pinch of sugar and a splash of the hot noodle water until smooth and pourable.
Pile on the crunch. Toss the drained noodles in the sauce, then pile the cucumber, carrot and green onion on top.
How to store half a cucumber
Wrap the cut end tightly, or keep the half in a sealed container, in the fridge, and eat it within two or three days. Keep it away from bananas and tomatoes, which make it soften faster.
FAQ
Can you freeze cucumber?
Not well. It turns watery and limp when it thaws, so plan to eat it fresh.
Why does cucumber go soft so fast?
It's mostly water. Cold, dry and wrapped is the key: wipe off any moisture before you put it away.
