Here’s a light and tasty recipe for a Cucumber Salad from Nick Digiovanni‘s great new book Knife Drop – Creative Recipes Anyone Can Cook (Penguin Books). It’s true: Nick comes up with a host of easy, delicious dishes that even the most kitchen-averse among us can whip up with ease. This cukie number would be great as its own healthy snack or as a side for other more substantial winter recipes in the book. Here’s how Nick does it…
Green goddess dressing tastes great on everything, but it pairs particularly well with cucumbers for a crunchy, creamy, and refreshing salad.
Yield
2 servings
Prep time
12 minutes
Cook time
None
Ingredients
5 to 6 Persian cucumbers
kosher salt and freshly ground
black pepper, to taste
1 lemon, to grate for zest
extra-virgin olive oil, to finish
1/3 cup (16g) chopped fresh chives
1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
For the dressing
1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon
juice
¾ cup (168g) mayonnaise
¼ cup (57g) sour cream
¼ cup (6g) chopped fresh parsley
1 tbsp tarragon leaves
1 small garlic clove
Slice the cucumbers as you prefer. I like to accordion slice them.
Method
In a large bowl, toss the cucumbers with salt and pepper to taste. Allow the cucumbers to sit to draw out their flavours.
To make the dressing, in a blender, combine the lemon juice, mayonnaise, sour cream, parsley, tarragon, and garlic. Blend on high until smooth.
When ready to serve, drain the cucumbers in a fine mesh strainer to remove any excess water. Transfer to a serving dish and drizzle the dressing over the cucumbers. Before serving, grate some lemon zest over the top, drizzle on a bit of olive oil,and sprinkle with the chives and sesame seeds.
TIPS Persian cucumbers are the small ones that often come in packs of five or six. They’re far more flavorful than conventional cucumbers. This recipe makes about 11/3 cups (330g) of dressing―save any leftover dressing for dipping veggies!
