A Kirby Cucumber Crostini
A Copious Amount of Cucumbers
Last Tuesday I met a woman named Mary Heyward, and two days a week - on Tuesdays and Thursdays - she sells her vegetables at the Surfside Farmers Market in South Carolina. I let her know I had to come back to her stand because her kirby cucumbers were, by far, the sweetest and crunchiest I’ve ever had. She sold me her final 26 kirby’s for $2 and, so, I went home and let a few of them sit in a bath of balsamic, olive oil, a drizzle of local honey and put them over crostini with fresh mozzarella - this was to be a starter for our family dinner. Just so y’all know, with this concoction, I’ve unearthed flavor and crunch heaven.
Notice I snuck in that ya’ll! Two weeks in the south, with two more to come, and I’ll be ya’llin all day for sure. Well, it’s likely the visit to SC and Connie Britton’s great ya’llin on Friday Night Lights - my latest Netflix indulgence - that has me making these slips. Small town life has been appealing to me of late, the local love, conversations, removal of status from daily life equations. I never thought I could imagine a life outside of New York, but this career change and my kirby cucumber moments are opening up new possibilities.
I didn’t know how my family would receive kirby’s with mozzarella, being as the Italians place tomatoes and mozzarella and the ultimate caprese salad at the pinnacle of fruit and cheese pairings. Spoiler, I threw my family another mozzarella curve ball while I was practicing southern living and both were a hit, adding peaches to our salad and creating a salty, sweet symphony to stimulate the senses. Typically one would make a plethora of pickles out of 26 kirby’s, but I wanted immediate crunch access and to do something a little different. Summertime cucumber crops are often times relegated to pickle making or your standard garden salad, but not in my house, no standard veggie consumption in my house. Because kirby’s are meant for pickling, this powerhouse salad or simple crostini topping can sit in your fridge for a few days and become more and more flavorful. If you’re me, you’ll tuck the leftovers in some glassware and then creep into the fridge every two hours or so - before bed - and steal another sweet, crunchy and salty bite.
Mary and her grandson run a beautiful stand and their farm is located Georgetown, South Carolina. The farmers vibe in South Carolina is so different than that which I’ve encountered in New York, and as much as I love my city that never sleeps, its crazy access to produce, options and opportunity - my heart feels a different level of connection when I’m here and having conversations with the Mary Heyward’s of the world. I’m looking forward to my next southern farmers market adventure and seeing what Mary has in store next week when I return.
8 kirby cucumbers, thinly sliced
2 T. extra virgin olive oil
1 T. balsamic vinegar
1-2 tsp. honey
Sprinkle of salt to taste
4-8 crostini, baguette with each piece sliced about a ½ an inch thick *mine were drizzled with 2 tsp. of olive oil and placed in the toaster oven, the crunch o f the bread was a great texture change here - but you can easily use a fresh baguette and let the juices soak into your bread for soft bites with kirby crunch
4-8 1 oz. slices of fresh mozzarella
Place sliced kirby’s in a large bowl, one that’s deep enough to toss and coat your cukes, and coat with olive oil, vinegar, honey and a sprinkle of salt
Refrigerate for 30 minutes
Place crostini on a platter, adding a slice of mozzarella to each crostini, topping with cucumber slices and spoonfuls of vinaigrette (you know, the delicious juicy juices it’s been sitting in)
Serve, smile and enjoy with those you love