Cucumber Carpaccio Recipe via Barcelona Restaurant

Chef Ian Kokkeler from Barcelona/Fairfieldwill be the guest chef at The Westport Farmers' Market on August 21st. He will be preparing and demo-ing two great summer recipes: Cucumber Carpaccio & Sweet Pickle Melon. Be there at 10:15! 

Kokkeler hails from Austin, where he spent the last several years as executive chef as some of that city’s most well known restaurants includingUchi, Congress and the W Hotel in Austin. 

CUCUMBER CARPACCIO (serves five people)

2 large cucumbers

2 T dried lavender

3T kosher salt

3T sugar

1oz nasturtium flower petals

2oz mixed micro greens

2oz lemon juice

2 grams fennel pollen

Take the cucumbers and use a mandolin and slice thinly. Combine the lavender, salt and sugar. On a square plate, take 2oz of the sliced cucumbers and overlap the cucumbers over each other, similar to looking like shingles. Once cucumbers are on the plate, take a two finger pinch of the lavender, salt & sugar and lightly dust the cucumber. Drizzle olive oil over the cucumber. Place flower petals over the cucumber, then microgreens and one pinch of fennel pollen. Add 1/4 oz of lemon juice over the cucumbers then finish with kosher salt.

SWEET PICKLE MELON (serves five people)

½ of honeydew

½ of cantaloupe

5 heirloom tomatoes (one tomato per person)

2 oz extra virgin olive oil

2 oz kosher salt

8oz burrata cheese

Pickle liquid

To make pickle liquid:

1pt sugar

1pt cider vinegar

1T whole coriander seeds

1T fennel

2 bay leaves

1T black peppercorn

Heat liquid until sugar is melted then steep spices for 20 minutes. Strain and place melon ribbons in pickle liquid 

Shave honeydew & cantaloupe with mandolin and place in pickle liquid. Slice heirloom tomatoes 1/8” thick. Place tomato on the plate and then place pickled melon over the tomato. Pull the burrata cheese apart and place chunks around the salad and drizzle with olive oil and kosher salt.