Cucumber salads: 5 unusual and healthy recipes

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

It's time to cook something new, tasty and healthy from cucumbers.

Recipe number 1. Sunomono cucumber salad with sesame seeds

Ingredients:

• 2 large cucumbers;
• 1 teaspoon of coarse salt
• 3 tablespoons of rice vinegar
• ¼ teaspoon of soy sauce;
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon sugar or honey
• 2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds.

Preparation

Wash and slice the cucumbers. You can cut them into circles, or, as in the original recipe, you can use a special vegetable cutter that will turn the cucumbers into a green serpentine. Place them in a small bowl, sprinkle with salt and let rest for 10 minutes.

Remove the cucumbers from the bowl, remove excess moisture that has been released under the influence of salt, and transfer to a salad bowl.

For salad dressing, combine rice vinegar, sugar, soy sauce, and sesame oil in a separate bowl. Season salad with this, mix well, sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve.

Recipe number 2. Cucumber salad with feta and avocado

Ingredients:

• 1 large cucumber;
• 3 large avocados
• 1 lemon;
• 80 g feta;
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh dill
• salt and black pepper to taste.

Preparation

Cut the cucumber and avocado into equal-sized pieces, add the juice of one lemon and dill, mix well. Crumble the feta on top. If you think that there is not enough salt (it all depends on the salinity of the feta), then salt the salad to taste and be sure to pepper it, preferably with freshly ground pepper.

Recipe number 3. Asian cucumber salad with carrots

Ingredients:

• 2 large cucumbers;
• 3 large carrots;
• 2 tablespoons of rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons lime or lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons of honey;
• 2 teaspoons sesame (or sunflower) oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes
• 1 tablespoon cilantro, chopped
• 1 teaspoon sesame seeds.

Preparation

Slice carrots and cucumbers into thin strips with a vegetable slicer or simply into thin slices. In a small bowl, combine the dressing ingredients: rice vinegar, lime juice, honey, sesame oil, salt, hot pepper, cilantro, and sesame seeds.

Season the salad, mix well and refrigerate for about 20 minutes, after covering the bowl with cling film. Serve with a little more sesame or cilantro if desired.

Recipe number 4. Thai cucumber salad with peanuts

Ingredients:

• ⅓ cups of rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons of sugar;
• ½ teaspoon sesame oil
• ¼ – ½ teaspoon of hot red pepper;
• ½ teaspoon salt;
• 2 large cucumbers;
• 3 feathers of green onions;
• ¼ cups of chopped peanuts.

Preparation

In a small bowl, combine the salad dressing ingredients: rice vinegar, sugar, sesame oil, red pepper, and salt. Leave the mixture on for a while to infuse.

Wash and chop the cucumbers and onions, chop the peanuts, put the ingredients in a bowl and stir. Add the dressing, stir well again and serve.

Recipe number 5. Cucumber salad with strawberries, feta and basil

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons of honey;
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
• ⅛ teaspoon of salt;
• ½ teaspoon orange peel;
• 2 cups chopped strawberries
• 2 cups sliced cucumbers
• 3 tablespoons of feta;
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil
• orange peel for garnish (optional).

Preparation

Wash the strawberries and cucumbers, cut into equal sized pieces and place in a bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the salad dressing ingredients: vinegar, honey, orange juice, salt, and orange zest.

Pour the dressing over the cucumbers and strawberries and mix well. Sprinkle with feta cheese crumbs and chopped fresh basil leaves on top. Garnish the salad with orange peel curls before serving.

As you can see, all five recipes are easy to prepare and don't require any exotic ingredients. If you don't have sesame oil, you can substitute sunflower or corn oil for it. The taste will not be as Asian, but the salad will still be great. If you do not like spicy food or it is contraindicated for you, you can either reduce the amount of hot pepper, or even remove it from the recipe.

Bon appetit, everyone.;)