Cucumber Salad

I decided to continue the vegetarian theme. This vibrant looking salad is delicious and extremely flavorful. It would be perfect with the lentils from yesterday. Although the salad is made with rice vinegar which has more of a Chinese or Japanese flavor.. but I think it would stand up very well with the delicious cumin and mustard seeds flavors.

The trick is to first buy an English cucumber instead of the regular variety. The English variety is leaner and longer and has less seeds. I cut it in half length wise and then scoop the seeds out with a spoon. In order to get the cucumbers super crispy, one can sprinkle some salt on them, place them in a colander over a bowl. The salt will extract the extra moisture out of the cucumbers and make them crunchy. This step is optional and skipping it will not lessen the flavor.

The salad has very few ingredients including the rice vinegar, serrano chilies and cilantro. Try this simple yet delicious salad…

• 1 large English cucumber, seeds scooped out and cut into half moons
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons rice vinegar
• 3 to 4 serrano chilies, cut in half
• ¼ cup cilantro, chopped

Place the cucumber in a medium bowl. Add the salt, vinegar, chilies and cilantro. Mix well and refrigerate for an hour or two before serving.