Seasonal local food recipe No.196 – Nigel’s strawberry and cucumber fruit salad
There are lots of cucumbers in the polytunnel, so we’re on the lookout for different ways to prepare them.
Nigel Slater says: “I know this sounds extraordinary, but [this] is the crispest, most refreshing fruit salad imaginable… summer in a bowl. And if you really can’t handle the idea of cucumber, then it is jolly good with strawberries and banana.” (via The Observer)
Serves: 4
Preparation time: 10 minutes + 30 minutes in fridge
Ingredients
For the syrup:
3 tbsp honey
10 mint leaves
5 tbsp elderflower cordial
2 cucumbers
450g medium strawberries
Method
Put the honey, mint and elderflower syrup into a blender and blitz to a thick, fragrant syrup. If you don’t have a blender, chop the mint very, very finely, mix it with the honey and cordial, then leave it for an hour. Strain through a fine sieve or muslin to remove the mint.
Peel the cucumbers, slice them in half down their length, then scrape the seeds out with a teaspoon. Dice the flesh finely and put it in a large bowl. Remove the leaves from the strawberries, slice the fruit in half and toss gently with the cucumber.
Pour the mint and elderflower syrup into the fruit, stir very gently, then leave for about 30 minutes, in the fridge and covered, before serving.
