Sesame Cucumber Radish Salad

Fresh and spicy, this sesame cucumber radish salad is a great accompaniment to any pan-fried (or roasted) protein like chicken or fish. It’s light, flavorful and delicious. 

This summer the Channel Islands have been unseasonably cold and rainy so I’ve been looking for ways to add a little heat and freshness to our lives. This cucumber radish salad was the perfect side dish for pan-fried salmon with Asian flavors. A little soy, a little ginger and garlic. Perfection.

I can also attest that this salad is even tasty the next day. And still crunchy!  

Sesame Cucumber Radish Salad

Don’t get too caught up in the weight of the cucumber. A little more or less won’t matter. Same with the radishes. Want to add more, go for it! If you can’t find English/telegraph cucumbers, use regular ones but scoop the seeds out. This recipe is adapted from one on Budget Bytes.

Ingredients

1/4 cup or 60ml rice vinegar

1 small red chili pepper 

4 teaspoons sugar

1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil 

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt 

1/2 English cucumber (about 7 oz or 200g)

4 radishes

2 green onions

Scant 1/4 cup or about 30g chopped peanuts

Method

Mince the chili pepper as finely as you can. Cut the roots off of the green onions and discard. Cut of the white parts and any harder, thick green parts and mince them. 

In a small bowl, combine the rice vinegar, chili pepper and the minced green onion parts. Set aside for five minutes. This tempers the pepper and onion while also infusing the vinegar with heat and flavor, making a more even distribution of the spice throughout the salad. 

Slice the cucumber and put it in a bowl.

Now whisk in the sugar, sesame oil, and salt into the vinegar. Set the dressing aside.

Slice the radishes thinly and add them to the cucumber bowl.

Slice the green parts of the onion snd set a small portion aside to garnish before serving. 

Pour the dressing over the sliced cucumbers and radishes. 

Add in the bigger pile of sliced green onions and stir to combine. 

Cover with cling film and refrigerate until ready to eat. Roughly chop the peanuts.

Give the salad a brief stir occasionally. The cucumber will release liquid. How much depends on how long your salad is refrigerated. If it’s a lot, I like to transfer the vegetables to a serving plate before adding the chopped peanuts.

Put the cucumbers and radishes on a serving plate. Spoon over the dressing, straining off most of the liquid but making sure to include the minced green onion and chili peppers. 

Top with the chopped peanuts and the sliced green onion parts. 

Enjoy! 

It’s Sunday FunDay and today we are sharing recipes with cucumbers. Many thanks to our host Sue of Palatable Pastime. Check out all the links below. 

• Cucumber and Avocado Salad from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Cucumber Raita from Cook with Renu
• Cucumber Rosettes from Amy’s Cooking Adventures
• Roasted Apricots, Cucumber, and Tomato Gazpacho with Alioli from Culinary Cam
• Semolina Cucumber Cake from Sneha's Recipe
• Sesame Cucumber Radish Salad from Food Lust People Love

 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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Watermelon Cucumber Feta Salad

This Watermelon Cucumber Feta Salad with pomegranate molasses vinaigrette is a fresh, delightful salad, perfect for the hot days of summer ahead for many of you. Here in Houston, they have already arrived!

Now it seems that watermelon feta salads abound on the internet but several years ago, while we were still living in Dubai, I saw my first one. By the hostess station – please wait here for us to seat you! - it was just a photo on a new restaurant menu with the watermelon and feta cut in perfect alternating cubes. It was both beautiful and, I imagine, delicious. 

We were meeting a friend for lunch elsewhere in the mall so I never got to try it but I’ve never forgotten it either. I wanted to create the same dish here but my feta would not cooperate. As I tried to cut it into cubes, it just kept crumbling. 

That’s when I threw my model salad aspirations to the wind and decided to add the cucumber for color and crunch. It was a good decision. Nothing more cooling than cucumber, except perhaps for juicy watermelon.

Watermelon Cucumber Feta Salad

For the vinaigrette, to keep with my Middle Eastern theme, I used pomegranate molasses, which is tart with a hint of sweet and is very more-ish in salad dressings and marinades. Most Middle Eastern or Mediterranean shops will carry it. If you truly cannot find it, substitute rich balsamic vinegar. Or you can make your own, as I’ve done when I’m desperate, by gently boiling down pomegranate juice until it’s as thick as molasses. I know, I know, I'm weird like that. 

Ingredients

For the salad:

(about) 2 lbs or 900g cubed watermelon

1 English cucumber (about 10.5 oz or 300g)

1/2 small purple onion

3.5 oz or 100g sheep’s milk feta, crumbled

For the vinaigrette:

2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses (available in most Middle Eastern stores or online)

2 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon sugar

fresh ground black pepper

good pinch fine sea salt

Method

For the vinaigrette, whisk the ingredients together in a small bowl. Set aside. 

As I mentioned above, I was trying to make cubes of my watermelon so I cut a large cross-section in the middle, lengthwise. 

Since the feta didn’t cooperate, my watermelon didn’t really need to be perfect cubes, yet here I was, not knowing yet, so I was cubing. 

You do you and cut the watermelon however you want. Flavor will NOT be affected. (No watermelon was wasted in the making of this salad! We ate it all, just not in this salad!)

Next trim the ends and cut the cucumber into half circles. 

Thinly slice your purple onion. (Wanna call it red onion still? See my hill here.)

If you so desire, attempt to cut your feta into cubes. Abandon this step as I did, if not successful. No photos here as it was a crumbly massacre. *shiver* Just resign yourself to crumbles. It’s all good. 

Arrange the watermelon cubes (and feta cubes if you got lucky!) and the cucumber half moons on your platter. Distribute the purple onion slices evenly on top. 

Scatter the feta crumbles (if you didn’t get lucky!) over the watermelon and cucumber. 

Drizzle with the pomegranate molasses vinaigrette and serve slightly chilled or at room temperature. 

Enjoy! 

• A Day in the Life on the Farm: Chicken and Cashew Salad with Ginger Dressing 
• Sneha's Recipe: Mango & Cucumber
• Pandemonium Noshery: Summer Corn and Pickled Onion Salad
• Magical Ingredients: Vegan Gochugaru Jicama Coleslaw 
• Food Lust People Love: Watermelon Cucumber Feta Salad 
• Karen's Kitchen Stories:  White Bean and Cherry Tomato Salad

Foodie Extravaganza is where we celebrate obscure food holidays by cooking and baking together with the same ingredient or theme each month. Posting day is always the first Wednesday of each month. If you are a blogger and would like to join our group and blog along with us, come join our Facebook page Foodie Extravaganza. We would love to have you! If you're a spectator looking for delicious tid-bits check out our Foodie Extravaganza Pinterest Board.

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Cheesy Cucumber Shrimp Bites #FishFridayFoodies

Cheesy cucumber shrimp bites are a quick and easy cocktail party appetizer of fresh cucumber cups filled with spicy cheese and topped with beautiful boiled shrimp, their tails festively aloft.

I have a soft spot for shrimp appetizers. I think it’s because when I was growing up, my mom would occasionally get a yen for fried shrimp or shrimp wontons. Either dish was a winner in my book. She rarely deep fried anything but the fact that the oil and deep pot would come out for shrimp made them special.

More recently, my favorite item on a buffet party table is always the cold boiled shrimp with spicy dipping sauce. I tend to fill my glass and just hang out nearby, noshing and sipping. Who can resist the festive colors, the perky tails! Add some green (cucumber) and red (chili peppers) and you’ve got a proper party on a plate. If you need an appetizer that looks fancy but is seriously easy, this is the one for you!

Or try a different version with feta, yogurt and cherry tomatoes. OR my Mediterranean eggplant poppers with shrimp. Both delightful.

Cheesy Cucumber Shrimp Bites

If you are transporting these beauties to a nearby party, I suggest that you fill the cucumber cups and bring the cooked shrimp along in a sealed container with a sheet of paper towel inside, to collect any excess moisture. Pop the shrimp on at the party table.

Ingredients – for 2 dozen cheesy cucumber shrimp bites
24 medium shrimp or 770g - 15/20 count per pound
1 teaspoon salt for boiling shrimp
8 oz or 227g cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup or 75g crumbled feta
1 tablespoon fresh fennel or dill fronds, plus extra for garnish
1 tablespoon minced fresh green onion tops or chives
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 small clove garlic, minced
1-2 hot red chili peppers, plus more for garnish, if desired
4-5 Lebanese cucumbers or 2 long English cucumbers

Method
The first thing we'll do is cook the shrimp. Peel and clean them, leaving the tail end on. Bring a pot of 4 cups or 960ml water with one teaspoon of salt to the boil. Add in the shrimp and remove the pot from the heat. Leave to rest, covered, for 3­-4 minutes or until the shrimp are have turned pink and are cooked through. Drain the pot and rinse the shrimp with cold water in a colander. Put the colander in the refrigerator to drain with a bowl underneath to catch any drips.

Meanwhile, stir together the softened cream cheese, feta, fennel, chopped fresh chives, fresh lemon juice, and salt.

If your filling is too thick for a piping bag or to squeeze out of a plastic bag with the corner cut off, add a tablespoon or two of warm water, mixing well between each addition.

To assemble the cheesy cucumber shrimp bites:
Cut cucumbers into 24 (1/2 in or 2cm) pieces, discarding the rounded ends. Use a melon baller or small spoon to scoop the seeds from centers of the cucumber pieces, being careful not to cut all the way through the bottom or the sides.

Use a plastic bag with a corner cut off or a piping bag and tip to overfill the cucumber cups with the spicy cheese.

Top each with a cold boiled shrimp. Add extra chili slices and more chopped fennel or dill fronds for garnish, if desired.

Enjoy!

Check out all the other wonderful seafood appetizers my Fish Friday Foodie friends are sharing today! Many thanks to this month's host, Sue of Palatable Pastime.

An InLinkz Link-up

Would you like to join Fish Friday Foodies? We post and share new seafood/fish recipes on the third Friday of the month. To join our group please email Wendy at wendyklik1517 (at) gmail.com. Visit our Facebook page and Pinterest page for more wonderful fish and seafood recipe ideas.

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Jacques’ Cucumber Salad (but) with Onions

Cucumber salad, made Jacques Pepin’s way, stays crunchy for several days, making it a great make-ahead contribution for your next potluck or barbecue party. You’ll want to double or even quadruple this recipe for a crowd. 

This week Sunday Supper is going to a barbecue party and bringing along everything you need from drinks to salads to ribs (You gotta have the ribs!) to make it just perfect. I love a fresh dish, but sometimes time does not allow for in-the-moment creations. That’s where Jacques Pépin and his cucumber salad come to the rescue. In the chef’s own words, “The salt, you will discover, draws the juices from the cucumbers, making them limp, and, paradoxically, very crisp at the same time. Prepared this way, the cucumbers will stay crisp for several days.” And so they do.

Many thanks to our hosts today, Jennie from The Messy Baker and Melanie from Melanie Makes! This recipe is adapted from Jacques Pépin's Complete Techniques.

Ingredients
4 cucumbers – weight 1 1/3 lbs or 585g
1 1/4 teaspoons coarse salt – I used sel gris.
1/2 small purple onion – about 2 oz or 55g
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons sour cream
Freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon peanut oil

Jacques’ ingredient list calls for three cucumbers, which he says will give you five cups sliced. I got two cups out of my four cucumbers so I don’t know where we went wrong but I reduced the rest of the ingredients proportionally to fit what I had. After all, you can’t salt two cups of cucumbers with the same salt that’s meant for five!

See? His aren't bigger than average. 

Method
Peel your cucumbers and cut them in half lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds with a spoon.

Cut them into slices about a 1/4 inch or 1/2cm wide.

Pop them into a colander, over a bowl to catch the juice. Sprinkle the cucumbers with salt and mix well. Allow to drain for at least an hour but preferably two, at room temperature.

Meanwhile, slice your half onion as thinly as you can manage and soak the slices in a small bowl in the lemon juice. Stir it occasionally as it sits.

When the time is up for the cucumbers, rinse them thoroughly under cold water and then press them lightly to get rid of excess water.

I laid them out briefly on some paper towels.

Mix the sour cream and the peanut oil into the lemon juice and onions, along with a good few grinds of fresh peppercorn.

Pour this mixture over the cucumbers and stir.

Jacques says more salt won’t be necessary and he is absolutely right. Because of the sour cream, refrigerate this salad if not eating immediately.

Enjoy!

Are you looking for more barbecue party recipes? Sunday Supper’s got you covered!

Beverages

• Best Wines For A Summer BBQ Party from ENOFYLZ Wine Blog
• Grilled Peach and Cinnamon Whiskey Sour from Peaceful Cooking
• How To Make Fresh Squeezed Lemonade from Life Tastes Good
• Pineapple Margaritas from The Messy Baker
• Stone Fruit Sangria from Because I Like Chocolate
• Strawberry Lemonade from Basic N Delicious

Appetizers

• BBQ Stuffed Calimari from Jane's Adventure in Dinner

Sides and Accompaniments

• Cucumber Salad with Blackberry Browned Butter Vinaigrette from Nik Snacks
• Easy Fruity Salad from Hot Momma's Kitchen Chaos
• Grilled Corn on the Cob with Lime Butter from The Redhead Baker
• Jacques' Cucumber Salad with Onions from Food Lust People Love
• Mango Peanut Slaw from The Texan New Yorker
• Mom's Classic Macaroni Salad from Webicurean
• Roasted Strawberry BBQ Sauce from Bobby's Kozy Kitchen
• Two Tomato Chutney from What Smells So Good?

Main Dishes

• Asian-Style Pasta with Gochujang Peanut Sauce from Wallflour Girl
• Barbecue Ribs from girlichef
• BBQ Stuffed Peppers from Small Wallet, Big Appetite
• Bistecca from Confessions of a Culinary Diva
• Competition Baby Back Ribs with Apple-Bourbon Barbecue Sauce from Crazy Foodie Stunts
• Grilled Cedar Plank Salmon from That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Grilled Clams with Chorizo from Noshing With The Nolands
• Grilled Sanma from A Mama, Baby & Shar-pei in the Kitchen
• Grilled Shrimp with Lemon Basil from Nosh My Way
• Grilled Swordfish and Eggplant with Fusilli and Tomatoes from Cooking Chat
• Grilled Wings from Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks
• Lemon Oregano Spatchcock Chicken from Kudos Kitchen by Renee
• Mango Beef Kebabs from Curious Cuisiniere
• Steak Skewers with Chimichurri from Jelly Toast
• Sweet and Tangy Blueberry BBQ Chicken Pizza from Simply Gourmet

Desserts

• Amazing S'mores 7-Layer Bars from Flavor Mosaic
• Banana Pudding Pie from A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures
• Blackberry Cake from Peanut Butter and Peppers
• Blueberry and Raspberry Galette from Rhubarb and Honey
• Farm Stand Blackberry Buckle from The Wimpy Vegetarian
• Grilled Peach Crumble from Try Anything Once Culinary
• Grilled Peaches with Mascarpone Cream and Sweet Balsamic Syrup from La Bella Vita Cucina
• Hot Fudge Ice Cream Pie from Melanie Makes
• Lemon Ricotta Bars from The Foodie Army Wife
• Old Fashioned Sour Cherry Pie from Pies and Plots
• Pineapple Upside Down Cake from Take A Bite Out of Boca
• S'mores Chocolate Cookie Cups from Cupcakes & Kale Chips

Za’atar Chicken with Fattoush

Enjoy spicy za'atar chicken with fattoush, a refreshing salad made with ripe tomatoes, cucumbers, mint, green onions and toasted pita bread.

When I get a new cookbook, I sit and read it cover to cover, even in bed at night, delaying lights out to finish just one last story or one last recipe.  I bookmark dishes to try and occupy the next weeks skipping happily through the markets, finding new ingredients, chopping and stirring and baking and cooking.  I’m in my element.

One of my favorite authors in my cookbook collection is Nigella Lawson.  She has a bright and easy way of writing and cooking that I adore.   When I bought her Forever Summer, one of the first meals I made was this tasty za’atar chicken with fattoush.  When I read that our host for #SundaySupper this week, Amy from KimChiMom, had chosen spices as our theme, I knew immediately that I had to make this!  The lovely Arabic mix of thyme, sesame seeds and ground sumac of the za’atar coats the chicken and gives it wonderful aromatic flavors as it roasts.  The fattoush, a tomato and cucumber salad with toasted pita bread, compliments it perfectly.

Ingredients
For the chicken:
Olive oil
1 large chicken (approx. 4 1/2-5 1/2 lbs or 2-2.5kg), cut into 8 pieces
4-6 tablespoons za’atar – can be purchased online at Penzey’s Spices or any Middle Eastern market
Maldon sea salt

For the fattoush:
1/2 English cucumber
4 Roma tomatoes
1 bunch spring onions
1 small bunch fresh mint, leaves picked
1 clove garlic, minced
Good handful black olives
5 1/4 oz or 150g crumbled feta cheese
Sprinkle of za’atar
Juice 1/2 lemon
Extra virgin olive oil
2 pita breads

Method
Pour a good couple of glugs of olive oil into the roasting pan and put the chicken pieces skin side up in the oil.  Turn the chicken pieces over and sprinkle the za’atar liberally over them.

Sprinkle with sea salt.  Turn them skin side up and sprinkle liberally again with za’atar and a little salt.

Leave to marinate for an hour or so, or overnight, covered, in the refrigerator if you have the time.

When you are ready to cook the chicken, preheat your oven to 375°F or 190°C.  (If the chicken has been chilled, bring it to room temperature.)

Roast the chicken for about 45-60 minutes, or until it is golden and cooked through.

Meanwhile, chop your tomatoes and cucumbers and pile them into a big salad bowl.  Mince the garlic and chop the spring onions and mint and add them in.

Halve the olives and add them into the salad with the crumbled feta.  Sprinkle lightly with za’atar.

When the chicken is cooked, remove the roasting pan from the oven and set aside, covered with foil.

Cut the pita breads open lengthways so that you have four very thin halves then toast them in the oven until golden and crunchy.  Take them out and let them cool.

Squeeze the lemon over the salad and give it a generous drizzle of olive oil.  Toss lightly.

Break the toasted pita breads into pieces and add to the salad.  Toss again lightly.

Serve alongside some tasty za’atar chicken.  


Enjoy!

If you like things spicy, hot or not, have a look at all the lovely Sunday Supper spice-filled recipes my fellow bloggers have for you this week.

Snappy Starters & Snacks

• Hatch Chile, Grape & Grilled Onion Salsa from Shockingly Delicious
• Spicy Tempeh Chips from The Urban Mrs
• Sriracha Popcorn from The Girl In The Little Red Kitchen
• Cheese, Smoked Paprika and Fennel Crackers from What Smells So Good?
• Baked Banana Pepper Poppers from Daily Dish Recipes
• Spicy Black Bean and Corn Stew from Mama’s Blissful Bites
• Caldo de Camaron y Pescado (Shrimp & Fish Soup) from girlichef
• Bajia with Tomato and Chili Chutney from My cute bride
• Buffalo Chicken {shredded} Salad from Casa de Crews
• Sriracha and Parmesan Fries from Mess Makes Food
• Smoky Salmon Chowder from Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
• Hummus and Spicy Turkish Ezme Salad from Neighborfood
• Goat Cheese Stuffed Peppedew Peppers from Healthy. Delicious.
• Tofu Hariyali Kebabs-(Tofu Kebabs in Cilantro Sauce) from Soni’s Food

Fiery Main Dishes

• Spicy Stuffed Mexican Peppers from Peanut Butter and Peppers
• Jalapeno Popper Fettuccine Alfredo from Chocolate Moosey
• Poached Tilapia en Escabeche from La Cocina de Leslie
• Spicy Grilled Chicken Wings with a Chipotle Honey Dipping Sauce from Runner’s Tales
• Chorizo and Scallop Skewers from Jane’s Adventures in Dinner
• Buffalo Chicken Pizza from Cookin’ Mimi
• Thai Cashew Chicken from Doggie at the Dinner Table
• Skillet Jambalaya from Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
• Firecracker Chicken from Juanita’s Cocina
• Cumin, Coriander and Fennel Turkey Pitas from Cook the Story
• Aubergine and Chickpea Curry from Small Wallet, Big Appetite
• Savory Tomato & Poblano Pie from An Appealing Plan
• Venison Mole Rojo from Curious Cuisiniere
• Za’atar Chicken with Fattoush from Food Lust People Love
• Crispy Oven Fried Buffalo Chicken Tenders from In The Kitchen With KP
• Skinny Buffalo Chicken Strips from Webicurean
• BBQ Chicken Pizza with Poblano Peppers and Pepitas from The Wimpy Vegetarian
• Spicy Thai Beef Salad from Magnolia Days
• Buffalo Chicken Sloppy Joes from Cupcakes & Kale Chips
• Spicy Lemon Paprika Chicken Thighs from Family Foodie

Searing Sauces & Seasonings

• Homemade Buffalo Sauce from Growing Up Gabel
• Whole grain Mustard recipe – Moutarde à l’ancienne from Masala Herb
• Homemade Sriracha Sauce from kimchi MOM

Zesty Sweets & Sips

• Cinnamon Streusel Scones from Killer Bunnies, Inc
• Fiery Pomelo from My Other City By The Bay
• Cinnamon Monkey Bread from That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Cinnamon Peanut Butter Skillet Blondies with Ice Cream from Vintage Kitchen Notes
• Goldilocks and the 3 Asian-Fusion Bars from NinjaBaking.com