Cucumber Salad with Grapes & Almonds
The almonds give it a lovely crunch, the grapes some sweetness, vinegar a touch of acidity
Source: http://www.simplyrecipes.com/
Serves: 4
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Ingredients
- ¼ cup slivered and blanched almonds
- 1 pound cucumbers, peeled if the peel is bitter, unpeeled if not
- Kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- About 20 green grapes, sliced in half
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1 teaspoon sherry or white wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 teaspoons minced chives, for garnish
Directions
- Slice the cucumbers in half lengthwise. Use a spoon to scoop out the seeds in the middle, discard the seeds. If using rather large cucumbers, slice them again lengthwise. Then cut them crosswise into1/ to slices. Place in a large bowl and sprinkle with a teaspoon of kosher salt. Toss to distribute the salt evenly around the cucumber pieces. Let sit for 20 to 25 minutes while the salt helps pull excess moisture out of the cucumbers. Then rinse off the salt, drain the cucumbers, and squeeze out more excess moisture with paper towels.
- Toast the slivered almonds in a small pan over medium-high heat, tossing them often, until they start to brown and smell good. Move to a bowl to cool.
- Mix the cucumbers, almonds, garlic, grapes, sugar, olive oil, and vinegar together in a large bowl and add more salt to taste. Garnish with chives and serve.
Notes
Cucumbers have a lot of water in them. When you dress them, the salt in the dressing will leach out some of this moisture, resulting in a lot of excess liquid. One way to get around this is to salt the cucumbers first, let them sit for a while for the salt to work its magic, then rinse off the salt and drain the cucumbers. This is step one in this recipe. You can skip it if you don't have time, but the result will then be much more watery.
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