Russian Quick-Salted Cucumbers with Garden Dill, Garlic and Black Bread

Trim the blossom end from each cucumber, about 1/8 inch, and discard it. That end carries an enzyme that softens the batch.

Serves 6

Ingredients

• 2 pounds small firm pickling cucumbers (Kirby), scrubbed
• 1 large bunch fresh dill, stems and fronds
• 8 garlic cloves, lightly crushed
• 3 tablespoons kosher salt
• 4 cups filtered water
• 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
• 3 dried bay leaves
• 2 fresh horseradish leaves or 1 tablespoon grated fresh horseradish, optional
• 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
• 1 loaf dense black rye bread, sliced
• 4 ounces cold cultured butter, for serving

Instructions

1. Trim the blossom end from each cucumber, about 1/8 inch, and discard it. That end carries an enzyme that softens the batch.
2. Bring the water and salt to a boil, stirring until the salt fully dissolves, then take it off the heat and let the brine cool to just warm.
3. Pack half the dill, half the garlic, the peppercorns, bay leaves, coriander seeds and horseradish if using into the bottom of a clean half-gallon jar or crock.
4. Stand the cucumbers upright and tightly packed on top, then tuck the remaining dill and garlic into the gaps.
5. Pour over the warm brine until the cucumbers are fully submerged, weighting them with a small saucer or a zip bag of water so nothing floats above the surface.
6. Cover loosely and leave at cool room temperature for 24 to 36 hours. Taste at 24 hours: they should be bright, garlicky and still audibly crunchy, with only the outer flesh turned translucent.
7. Move the jar to the refrigerator once they taste right, which stops the fermentation where you want it. They keep about a week before softening.
8. Serve cold and whole or split lengthwise, with thick slices of black bread and cold butter alongside.
9. These are malosolnye ogurtsy, literally lightly salted cucumbers, and they are not pickles in the shelf-stable sense at all. Russian households make them in the narrow window when cucumbers come in by the bushel, eating the whole batch within days precisely because the appeal is that half-cured state: still snapping, still tasting of the garden, just beginning to take on brine. The black bread and butter is the traditional partner, and it is not optional so much as inevitable.

Nutrition (estimated, per serving)

• Calories: 210 kcal
• Protein: 6g
• Fat: 9g
• Carbohydrates: 28g
• Fiber: 4g
• Sugar: 5g
• Sodium: 980mg