These salads are the kind of food we are all craving for this time of the year. I decided to post this recipe after preparing it as a side dish for a barbecue, although it was almost left in the kitchen counter among all the snacks, drinks and meats, it actually had success and something lighter and fresh was appreciated in the end.
Even though salads are commonly neglected at these bbqs and feasts, I’m sure many of you also appreciate their presence in some way.:D
This salad is as easy as can be, simple and quick to make, perfect for this season when it starts to get hot and we look for refreshing meals that are a little different. It has no big secrets, its simple combination of ingredients together with the asian dressing make a very nice mix of flavours and the only tricky part, if any, is making the dressing, but only because it contains the same amount of ingredients as the recipe!
Regarding the asian dressing some ingredients might be hard to find, like the lemongrass powder or the green tea salt (I brought them from Vietnam and Thailand) so you can just skip them or replace for other spices and salt you may have. The longer the dressing marinates the stronger the flavours will be.
So here’s my cucumber and watermelon salad with asian dressing!
So here’s my cucumber and watermelon salad with asian dressing!
INGREDIENTS : (Serves 4 aprox., as a side dish)
- 2 cucumbers
- 3 slices of watermelon
- Feta or other cheese cubes
- 1 branch of celery
- 2 spring onions
- 1 handful of cashew nuts
- 1 handful of fresh mint and coriander
- 1 tbsp. sesame seeds
For the dressing:
- 2 tbsp. gluten free Tamari or soy sauce
- 1 lime
- 1 piece of ginger
- Chilli or cayenne pepper
- 5 tbsp. sesame oil
- 1 tbsp. organic cane sugar
- 1 tbsp. lemongrass powder
- Green tea salt or other
ELABORATION:
- We start making the dressing first so it has time to marinate: peel and cut the ginger in small pieces, squeeze the lime, add the tamari/soy sauce, sugar cane, sesame oil, lemongrass, cayenne pepper an the salt (these last two,to taste).
- Peel the cucumbers partially and remove the seeds. Cut in small pieces.
- Cut the watermelon into small pieces too.
- Chop the spring onions, the mint and coriander.
- If your cashews are raw you can toast them a few minutes in a pan with no oil until they get golden, then chop them.
- Put everything in a bowl along with the cheese cubes and the rest of ingredients.
- Add the dressing and mix well. Ready to serve!
*Little tricks and tips*
->I recommend pouring the dressing just right when you are going to serve it so the cucumber and watermelon doesn’t get mushy
-> Cucumbers are easier to digest if we remove the seeds inside, and it will also be crunchier in the salad; it is worth leaving all or part of the peel since it is where most of the fiber and vitamins are concentrated.
Thiis was lovely to read
ReplyDelete