Cucumber Salad

January 15, 2009

This is a great salad if you have a cuke glut, if you need a sambal for an Asian meal, if you want something fresh but different or if the fridge is almost bare of salad vegetables.

I like it as part of a summer buffet, particularly if there’s some nice marinated meat waiting to be tossed on the barbecue. It’s also a great accompaniment to prawn, calamari or fish dishes – particularly if the family angler has brought home a good catch – a distant dream, in my case.

You can use fresh chilli if you wish, but I find the random flakes give a pleasant little kick for the chilli-wary.

Cucumber salad

1 medium telegraph cucumber
2 spring onions
1 medium red onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons chopped coriander
salad leaves
2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon light olive oil
1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes

Peel the cucumber. Halve lengthwise and remove the seeds. Cut into chunks about 1cm thick.

Chop the spring onions diagonally into 1cm lengths. Place with the finely chopped red onion and cucumber in a bowl. Whisk together the fish sauce, lime juice, oil and chilli flakes and pour over the vegetables. Toss well to mix.

Line a serving dish with the salad greens then tip on the cucumber salad and sprinkle over the coriander.

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