Watermelon and feta, sour cream and chives, and chili oil and scallions make these cucumbers sing.
cucumber vine are have a second right now . TikTok , for one , ca n’t get over the way in whichKendall Jenner slice them . Perhaps to compensate , users are dishing out the most innovative cucumber recipe , smashing them , turning them intocaterpillar - corresponding accordions , and evenpickling them in Sprite .
It ’s easy to understand why this piss - fill vegetable attain its peak in the warmer months . Cucumbers are hydrating , crunchy , and as absorbent material as a sponge , making them first-class watercraft for marinade . Plus , they ’re best when they ’re cold . So make these formula , toss them into Tupperware , and enjoy at your next summertime outing .
Watermelon and feta salad with dried mint
Kari Heron , the blogger behindChef and Steward , was first introduced tothis recipewhen she moved to Dubai . “ Over the many years I lived there , I make grow a unattackable affinity for feta and mint , which are hard featured in Levant cuisine , ” she says . “ The westerly mind can not easy comprehend the combination , but bank me your gustatory modality buds will thank you for it . ”
For this recipe , you ’ll postulate Citrullus vulgaris , cucumbers , and feta cheese . The salad dressing is a bare lemon - Olea europaea oil combo , with both dehydrated and fresh mint for a not bad depth of relish . “ Because watermelon is lower in carbs , it is also a bang-up way to satisfy a sweeter craving while watching boodle ingestion , ” Heron explains . “ Pairing the fruit with the protein - rich feta and salutary quality extra virginal olive crude oil slows down the dismission of simoleons into the bloodstream . ”
As for presentation , Heron like to cut the watermelon into cube and either make cucumber vine ribbons with a mandolin or slice them very thinly . Simply crumble the feta by hand and hack the pile on top or use the small leaves whole .
Justin Lee’s smashed cucumber salad|Photo courtesy of Fat Choy
“ This is bang-up as a repast or on the side of grilled substance or seafood , lighten up with a wring of lemon , ” Heron says . “ grill skewers are heavy to pack for a picnic and so is this salad . Just separate the ingredients in separate containers and assemble on internet site . ”
Creamy cucumber salad
A creamy cucumber vine salad is a classic . Katie Workman , cookbook author and founder ofThe Mom 100 , loves usingthis oneto add freshness to any bill of fare . Cucumber and red-faced onion slices get tossed in sour ointment , along with fresh Citrus limon succus , dill weed , and chives .
“ find free to play with this formula : Sub in one cup of sliced scallion , white and green parts , for the reddish onions if you favour , ” Cookman say “ You might also think of adding a cupful of cooked corn whiskey heart to this for a summery gimmick . The crumbled feta or Capricorn cheese at the end is optional — think about the relief of your menu , and then settle if tot some cheese is a good estimate , or overkill . ”
Workman like to use baby Cucumis sativus in her salads , “ which are now so much more readily available than they were even a few years ago , ” she say . But you may also opt for regular cucumbers . Just slice up them in half lengthwise , sow them , and snub into half - Sun Myung Moon . “ If the cutis of your cucumber is quite thin and crank , you do n’t have to peel them , ” she says . “ Otherwise , peeling the cucumber makes for a more delicate salad . ” Workman loves to serve this recipe with aGreek Turkey Burger .
Katie Workman’s creamy cucumber salad|Photo by Cheyenne Cohen
Smashed cucumber salad
The carte at Justin Lee ’s “ kind of Taiwanese , also vegan ” restaurant in New York City , Fat Choy , would n’t be the same without his bankrupt cucumber . Lee thinks of it nostalgically as the Chinese version of Shake ‘ n Bake . “ Instead of shake wampum crumbs with porc chop , we would smash cucumber in credit card bags , ” he say .
harmonise to Lee , a great cuke salad is one that plays off of the cucumber ’s refreshing nature . “ So ours is a little mellisonant , it ’s a picayune creamy , it ’s a picayune spicy , ” he say . Lee prefer Persian cucumber vine for this formula , as they ’re thin skinned and often uniform in size of it . But English , or live theatre , cucumbers will work just fine .
The squad at Fat Choy use the back of a meat cleaver to smash the cuke — though you’re able to also apply the back of the knife — to achieve a hasselback shape and give the cucumbers more airfoil area to pick up flavor . “ We wanted that dress to get in and really penetrate , and for the cucumber , which is wet , to actually pick up the dressing instead of just having it flick right off , which is pretty normal for a cucumber vine if you do n’t marinate it . ”
Once the cucumbers are smashed , they get tossed in salt and leave in the fridge for up to 24 hours , which “ helps remove some of the liquid that ’s in the cucumber , so it kind of concentrates the flavor , ” Lee says . Then you ’ll put away them in a mixture of tahini , lime juice , miso , soya bean sauce , acetum , peppiness , and sesame oil .
Lee top his smashed Cucumis sativus with chili oil , balsamy acetum , scallions , and sesame seminal fluid , but also suggests experimenting with crispy shallots , or anything else “ on the wafture of bread crumbs or crouton — a textured foil that can also take in some of that medical dressing , ” he articulate . “ you could almost make it into a panzanella if you have some day - old loot . ” Lee ’s successful take - out model rise that these cucumbers travel well , but you could always bring the sauce on the side to agitate everything up at your outside party .
Fat Choy Smashed Cucumber Salad RecipeYield:4 service
constituent :
Instructions:1 . cutting cucumbers in fourths , lengthwise , smash with the spine of a knife in a hasselback pattern , then slice on a steep bias into 2 - 3 ” piece . chuck cucumbers with 1 tsp . saltiness in a bowl . limit away for at least 1 hour in the fridge or up to 24 hours . The cucumber will have released some weewee , drain well before assembling the salad .
2 . whisk broom garlic , tahini , birdlime juice , miso , soy sauce , acetum , ginger , sesame oil color , and sugar in a bowl , and toss with cucumbers .
3 . plateful the cucumber salad , top with chili oil , balsamic vinegar , leek , and sesame seeds .
