Cuisine – Cool as a cucumber

Salads have been popular for both lunch, light dinners and to accompany the endless summer barbecues this year. Hot days and nights demand cool food, and by preparing a tasty salad ahead, it’s great to know you can relax and eat any time you’re hungry.

This spring, I planted a Lebanese cucumber in my garden and have been delighted by the sweet crunchy texture and taste. When fresh, they are superior in every way to the long plastic wrapped cucumbers we’re more used to that can often sit for days in the stores, are far more bland and hold more moisture. I noticed some of the excellent Lebanese variety in the Farmers Market, bundled up in groups of three and pounced on those, too. It’s important to refrigerate cucumbers to keep them crisp, and apart from icy cold watermelon, they top the list of refreshing summer vegetables for me.

One of my favourite ways to eat cucumber is to make it into a salad by cutting it lengthwise and chopping it into thick crunchy slices, then tossing it with lime juice, salt or fish sauce, a few toasted cumin seeds and a chopped chilli pepper. It is the perfect little side dish if you’re barbecuing lamb.
Even better is to make a bowl of cucumber raita (Indian) or tzatziki (Greek), which are quite similar. For both of these, grate the cucumber and place it in a sieve or colander to drain excess water. Take a cup of good thick Greek yogurt (try to find one without added sugar) and stir the cucumber through with salt, crushed garlic and plenty of chopped mint. The raita can be elevated with spices like cumin or a garam masala. Both are ideal when served cold as a side dish or a dip.

For this cucumber recipe, I used soba noodles, a very popular noodle in Japanese kitchens. They can be found in most supermarkets, are very easy to cook and excellent in cold dishes for summer, as they make a base for the flavours and tastes of whatever you choose to toss with them. You could also use rice stick noodles or very fine spaghetti noodles for this dish. Take care always to read the packet cooking instructions as you certainly do not want soggy, soft noodles.

And do try to find ponzu sauce in the Japanese section of the supermarket. It is a citrus-based sauce, a little thinner than soy sauce and can be used in place of soy or mixed with it to make it darker. I also like to serve it with my sashimi and sushi as it is light and delicious.

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Cucumber & Prawn Salad with Soba Noodles

8 shelled and cooked prawns, dressed with 2 tsp olive oil, salt and a little chopped dill.
180g (2 bunches) soba noodles
1 small cos lettuce
1 small Lebanese cucumber
1 small tomato
100g feta cheese
A sprig fresh dill
a few mint leaves

Dressing:
2 tbsp soy sauce or ponzu sauce
3 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp fish sauce
Grated rind of lime or lemon

Thaw the prawns and then toss them with a little salt, chopped dill and 2 tsp of olive oil.

Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and plunge the noodles in. Simmer for 4-5 minutes, then drain and plunge into cold water to cool.

Meanwhile, wash the lettuce and dry the leaves. Chop the cucumber and tomato into 2cm cubes.

Make the dressing by mixing all the ingredients together. If using soy sauce it would be best to add a couple of tablespoons of lemon or lime.

Drain and toss the noodles, cucumber and the tomato in half the dressing.

Spread the cos leaves on a platter, and pile the noodles, cucumber and tomato on top. Crumble the feta over everything, add the prawns and mint leaves and sprinkle the rest of the dressing over everything.

Season with freshly ground black pepper and add a little extra salt to taste.

Serve chilled. Two serves, but this can be scaled up.