Seasonal local food recipe No 157: Cucumber and poppy seed salad
As cucumbers are so plentiful at the moment, here’s another idea for using them – it’s from Yotam Ottolenghi’s book Ottolenghi.
With large cucumbers (as opposed to the mini ones found in the Middle East), he advises halving the cucumber along its centre and scooping out the watery seedy core with a teaspoon.
Serves 4
Preparation: 10 minutes
Ingredients
6 small cucumbers (about 500g) – or 1-2 of the CSA ones
2 mild red chillies, thinly sliced
3 tbsp roughly chopped coriander
60ml white wine vinegar or rice vinegar
125ml sunflower oil
2 tbsp poppy seeds
2 tbsp caster sugar
salt and black pepper
Method
Chop off and discard the end of the cucumbers. Slice them at an angle, so you end up with pieces 1cm thick and 3-4cm long.
Mix together all the ingredients in a large bowl. Use your hands to massage the flavours gently into the cucumbers. Taste and adjust the amount of sugar and salt according to the quality of the cucumbers. The salad should be sharp and sweet, almost like a pickle.
If not serving immediately, you might need to drain some liquid off later. Adjust the seasoning again afterwards.
