Gardeners know that not all cucumbers grow such that they can be marinated whole. Some gardeners do not have time to pick vegetables in time, and they outgrow. Others, although they are the right size, turn out to be bent like hooks. However, they want to be used for winter blanks. Fortunately, there are snacks for which non-standard cucumbers can be used with the same success as young and even. These snacks include salad "Nezhinsky", which zealous hostesses prepare for the winter from Soviet times. It was then that a cheap cucumber and onion salad could be found on the shelves of almost any store. It was called “Nezhinsky” and was very tasty. Today, the classic salad recipe is used along with other, improved, when other ingredients are included in the appetizer, such as paprika, or onion is replaced with garlic. Combines these recipes one thing: the main ingredient in them are cucumbers.
Cooking Features
There are two main technologies for making Nezhinsky salad. The first option involves the preparation of snacks with its subsequent sterilization in banks, it allows you to keep the fresh aroma and crispness of cucumbers. However, many housewives prefer the second option - without sterilization, since it is simpler, and the snack prepared in this way is very well worth it. If the salad is not digested, then it will remain fragrant, and cucumbers will not completely lose their ability to crunch.
- Regardless of the chosen salad preparation technology and a specific recipe, there are a few rules that must be followed if you want to cook a tasty salad for the winter, which will also be well kept.
- For the “Nezhinsky” salad it is quite acceptable to use overgrown cucumbers. However, large seeds of them must be cut so that they do not spoil the taste of the finished snack. Therefore, preference is still often given, albeit sub-standard, but not heavily overgrown cucumbers.
- If the cucumbers are slightly drained, they can be restored by soaking for two hours in cold water. After such a procedure, they will again become elastic and crispy. It is only important that the water remains cold and that the “bathing” of cucumbers does not last too long, otherwise they will simply sour and become unsuitable for preservation.
- If sweet pepper is included in the appetizer, it is better to choose a color one, since with it it will look brighter and more appetizing.
- Banks for salad intended for long-term storage should be not only cleaned with soda, but also sterilized. The same applies to the lids with which you plan to close these banks.
Small subtleties of preparing the “Nezhinsky” salad for the winter may depend on the specific recipe, so it makes sense to carefully study the accompanying instructions.
Recipe for salad “Nezhinsky” with sterilization
Composition (4 liters):
- cucumbers - 3 kg;
- onions - 1 kg;
- fresh parsley - 100 g;
- fresh dill - 100 g;
- allspice - 6 pcs .;
- Acetic essence (70 percent) - 25 ml;
- vegetable oil - 150 ml.
Method of preparation:
- Wash the cucumbers and cover them with cold water. Leave for 2 hours.
- Rinse the cucumbers again, dry them with a kitchen towel, cut off their tips.
- Cut cucumbers into circles about 1 cm thick or less.
- Remove peel from onion. Cut it not too thin rings (approximately 2-3 mm). If you have large bulbs, you can cut into halves of rings.
- Wash and blot the greens with napkins, finely chop it with a knife.
- In a large saucepan, combine cucumbers, onions and greens. Pour with salt, add vinegar and vegetable oil, mix. Put for 2-3 hours in a cool place to let the vegetables juice.
- Sterilize the jars. Tightly fill them with salad.
- Boil the brine remaining on the bottom of the pan and pour the salad almost to the very edges of the jar.
- Cover jars with sterilized caps. Put in a large saucepan, pre-bedded on its bottom fabric, so that the banks do not burst when heated.
- Pour warm water into the pan so that it reaches the shoulders. Put on the fire. Sterilize banks 15-25 minutes, depending on their volume.
- Carefully remove the jars from the pan, roll them up and turn them over. Cover with a warm blanket to create a sauna effect. Allow banks to cool down in such conditions.
Store the cooled jars in storage in the pantry or in another place where you usually have canned food.
Nezhinsky Salad without sterilization
Composition (4 liters):
- cucumbers - 2 kg;
- onions - 2 kg;
- table vinegar (9 percent) - 50 ml;
- vegetable oil - 100 ml;
- salt - 40 g;
- black and allspice peas - to taste.
Method of preparation:
- Wash cucumbers well, cut into semicircles about 5 mm wide.
- Peel and cut the onion into half rings.
- Mix onions and cucumbers, salt and leave for half an hour.
- When the vegetables make juice, put the saucepan on a slow fire. Pour in the oil, stir, bring to a boil and cook for 10-12 minutes.
- Add pepper and vinegar to the salad, mix. After 5 minutes, place the salad in sterilized jars.
- Hermetically close the jars, turn them over and wrap them. Leave it for a day.
A day later, remove the finished salad for the winter. It will be delicious after about a month, and you can store it even at room temperature for a year and a half.
Nezhinsky Salad with Bulgarian Peppers
Composition (4 liters):
- cucumbers - 3 kg;
- onions - 0, 5 kg;
- Bulgarian pepper - 0, 5 kg;
- garlic - 3 cloves;
- apple cider vinegar (6 percent) - 120 ml;
- sugar - 80 g;
- mustard seeds - 30 g;
- dill seeds - 10 g;
- carnation - 5 pcs .;
- turmeric - 10 g;
- salt - 100 g.
Method of preparation:
- Wash, dry, and cut cucumbers into circles or semicircles, depending on their size.
- Free the onions from the peel, cut into half rings.
- Cut the peppers into the quarters of the rings.
- Finely chop the garlic with a knife or pass through a press.
- Mix all the vegetables in a large saucepan. Add sugar and salt to them, mix. Refrigerate for 3 hours.
- Spread the salad, tamping it with a spoon, over sterilized jars.
- To the juice remaining at the bottom of the pan, add vinegar and spices. Bring the marinade to a boil and boil for 2-3 minutes.
- Fill the salad with boiling marinade.
- Sterilize the salad jars for 10-20 minutes and roll up.
- Turning and wrapping, wait for the cans to cool down, after which they can be removed to the place of the usual storage of your supplies for the winter.
Thanks to the inclusion of pepper in the recipe, the salad looks very appetizing, and its benefits are greatly enhanced.
Nezhinsky salad with carrots
Composition (5 l):
- cucumbers - 3, 5 kg;
- carrots - 0, 5 kg;
- onions - 1 kg;
- fresh greens - 100 g;
- vegetable oil - 150 ml;
- salt - 50 g;
- sugar - 40 g;
- Table vinegar (9%) - 50 ml.
Method of preparation:
- Cucumbers, washed, soak for a while in cold water. Rinse, blotted with napkins and cut into slices.
- Peel the carrot, chop it on a grater. It will look more beautiful in a salad if you use a grater for making Korean snacks to grind it, but you can also use a regular grater with large holes.
- Peel onions, cut into cubes.
- Mix vegetables in a large saucepan, adding salt, sugar, chopped greens, and butter to them. Leave for an hour in a cool place.
- Place the pan on a low heat and bring its contents to a boil. Simmer for 15 minutes. 5 minutes before it is ready, add vinegar.
- Distribute snacks to sterilized cans, stoppered.
- Place the cans upside down and cover them with a thick cloth or blanket.
After a day, when the banks cool down, they will have to be moved to the pantry until winter.
Nezhinsky Salad with Garlic
Composition (4 liters):
- cucumbers - 4 kg;
- garlic - 10 cloves;
- sugar - 100 g;
- vegetable oil - 150 ml;
- salt - 100 g;
- Table vinegar (9 percent) - 100 ml.
Method of preparation:
- Cut cucumbers into semicircles or circles.
- Pass the garlic through the press.
- Mix garlic with cucumbers, salt and sugar, leave for 3 hours.
- Drain the separated juice, add oil and vinegar, bring to a boil.
- Spread the salad over the prepared jars, pour the marinade.
- Sterilize the jars for 15-20 minutes and roll up.
- Put the jars on the lids, wrap them up and leave to cool.
Remove cooled banks. They can be kept at room temperature, but the salad will be stored longer in a cool place. According to this recipe, a salad without sterilization is not done, since when cooking, garlic will lose its sharpness.
Recipe with step by step photos
Composition (for 0, 7l):
- 1 kg of cucumbers;
- 300 g onions;
- 50 ml of table vinegar;
- 50 ml of vegetable oil;
- 1, 5 tbsp. l Sahara;
- 1 tbsp. l salt.
Method of preparation:
1. We touch cucumbers - only frankly spoiled ones will not work. Be sure to cut the tails and check for bitterness. It is better to take a pickling variety, and not lettuce. Such cucumbers with pimples, and salad - smooth.
2. Cut the cucumbers into thin circles, about 2-3 mm thick.
3. Onions first need to be peeled and then cut, but not very finely. If the onions are of small diameter, then you can cut them into rings or half rings.
4. In a bowl, pour in salt and sugar, mix, you can use your hands and let stand for 20 minutes for the vegetables to let the juice.
5. Send the saucepan of cucumbers to the stove, wait until the contents of the saucepan begin to boil. Reduce heat and boil cucumbers for 10 minutes. Stir in vegetable oil. You can also add any spices and spices, for example, bay leaf, peppercorns, cloves, mustard seeds and coriander. Boil 5 minutes.
6. Pour in table vinegar 9% and mix again. Boil a few more minutes until the cucumbers darken and become soft.
7. Prepare the glass container in advance — sterilize it over steam, in a microwave oven or in an oven. Fill the jars with salad to the brim.
8. Tighten the jars tightly with sterile lids; you do not need to overturn and wrap the “Nezhinsky” salad for the winter. Store in a pantry or cellar.
