Recipe: Crunchy Cucumber Salad with Pickled Mustard Seeds
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The best thing about cooking with fresh summer produce is that you don't have to do a lot with it. Each ingredient, fruit or vegetable, is so richly packed with natural flavors that a little dressing and seasoning is all it takes, to create a salad that can rival any tedious appetizer. This crunchy cucumber salad, with red onions (What wine goes well with onions?) and pickled mustard seeds (how long do mustard seeds last?), is a testament to that.
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Cucumber might seem like a bland vegetable (or to be more precise, fruit), but it has a mild, almost watery sweetness and a crisp bite, that pairs deliciously well with sweet and sour flavors, like this honey (how long does honey last?) and rice vinegar (how long does rice vinegar last?) dressing. The addition of sliced red onions gives the salad a pungent bite. Fresh dill (how long does dill last?) and mint leaves cut through the tang and spice with a mild herby sweetness. But the icing on the cake, or the seasoning on the salad, is pickled mustard seeds (how long do seeds last?). These seeds are little bombs of sweet and tart which, when bitten into, pop in your mouth like caviar.
When making this salad, muddle cucumber slices gently to release their juices, and then toss in the other ingredients and dressing right before serving to retain the cool cucumber crunch.
If planning a summer picnic or outdoor lunch, this refreshingly sweet and spicy cucumber salad is a must-try. It is so seriously easy to make, that it transforms cumbersome summer cooking into a cu-cumbersome delight!
Making Cucumber Salad
Make the dressing
For the dressing, in a small bowl, add rice (how long does rice last?) vinegar, honey, sesame oil (how long does sesame oil last?), and salt. Mix until well combined and keep aside.
For the most extensive selection, I suggest buying a mixing bowl, rice vinegar, honey, sesame oil, and salt online!
Assemble Cucumber Salad
To assemble the salad, in a large bowl add cucumber slices, and muddle gently (they shouldn't lose their shape). Add sliced onion, mint, dill, and pickled mustard seeds on top. Drizzle the dressing and toss and mix to coat all ingredients with the dressing.
Transfer the salad into a serving bowl. Drizzle more dressing and pickled mustard seeds on top if you like and serve!
Crunchy Cucumber Salad with Pickled Mustard Seeds
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- ½ tablespoon agave nectar or honey
- 1 English cucumber, thinly sliced into rounds
- â…“ cup thinly sliced red onions
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon chopped dill
- 1 tablespoon fresh mint leaves
- Pickled mustard seeds, optional (recipe below)
- Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling, optional
- 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup water
- 3 tablespoons cane sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/3 cup yellow mustard seeds
Instructions
- Make the pickled mustard seeds. In a small pot over medium heat, combine the vinegar, water, sugar, and salt. Bring to a simmer and stir in mustard seeds. Reduce the heat, and cook over low heat for 30 minutes or until the mustard seeds are plump. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature. Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
- Make the salad. In a large bowl, combine the vinegar, agave nectar, cucumber, onion, salt, sesame oil, and dill. Toss to coat and chill for 10 minutes. Transfer to a serving bowl, leaving some of the excess water behind. Garnish with fresh mint, dollops of pickled mustard seeds, and a drizzle of olive oil, if desired. Season to taste and serve.
Nutrition Facts
Calories
175.66Fat
9.21Sat. Fat
0.84Carbs
19.52Fiber
2.51Net carbs
17.04Sugar
13.69Protein
4.51Sodium
589.16Cholesterol
0
