Recipes February 26, 2024  | Servings: 4 as a side dish, or add protein to make it a salad for 1

Smashed Cucumber Salad with Herbs

We love this technique of smashing cucumbers for a rustic looking salad where the dressing soaks into all of the nooks and crannies. We freshen it up with some herbs and a few sprinkles of toasted sesame seeds. The salad makes a great side dish with a robust and spicy meal, such as our Vietnamese curry.

Ingredients

  • 4-5 small Japanese or Persian cucumbers or 1 English cucumber
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 2 Tablespoons rice wine vinegar
  • 4 Tablespoons toasted sesame oil
  • 1 bunch mint picked
  • ½ bunch cilantro leaves and first half of stems cut
  • 2 Tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
  • 1 Tablespoon black sesame seeds

Instructions

  1. Take the cucumbers and rub them with salt, then use a wooden rolling pin to lightly bash them. You are not looking for them to break all the way apart but to have some seems broken into them that you will pull apart. Once all of the cucumbers are broken, pull them apart into different size pieces. Part of the joy is in the salad not being uniform.

  2. Place the cucumbers in a bowl, toss with vinegar, sesame oil, mint and cilantro. Taste to see if you need to add a little more salt or vinegar.

  3. Plate salads and sprinkle with toasted and black sesame seeds over the top.

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