Although the best tasting cucumbers will be available in July/August, then the cucumbers on sale at the moment arent really so bad. So when I was looking for dishes to serve at
our Easter Brunch table, this vivid green salad in Ottolenghis book immediately caught my eye. The Ottoleghi guys recommend you make this with small cucumbers (sometimes called Lebanese cucumbers in British recipes), but those wont be available until mid-summer. Until then, nice thin long ones will work as well.
I loved the colour, the piquancy of the dressing and the crunchiness of the poppy seeds. Again - suitable for gluten-free and lactose-free and vegan and vegetarian diets.
Cucumber and poppy seed salad(
Krõmpsuv kurgisalat krõmpsuvate mooniseemnetega)
Recipe from Ottolenghi: The Cookbook (slightly adapted)
Serves 6 to 8 as part of a buffet
500 g fresh cucumber (about 2-3 long green cucumbers, choose slim ones with small seeds)
1 mild red chilli pepper, deseeded and thinly sliced
3 Tbsp chopped fresh coriander/cilantro leaves
4 Tbsp white wine vinegar or rice vinegar (I used Prosecco vinegar)
5 Tbsp rapeseed or sunflower oil
2 Tbsp poppy seeds
2 Tbsp caster sugar
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
Wash the cucumbers, cut off the ends and discard. Halve the cucumbers lengthwise, then cut into 1 cm slices at a slight angle. Place into a large bowl.
Add coriander leaves, vinegar, oil, poppy seeds and sugar, then season with salt and pepper. Use your hands to massage the flavours into the cucumbers. Taste for seasoning - youre aiming for a sweet and sharp taste sensation.
Serve immediately.
Urgh! For weeks, I havent been able to first access my blog and when I finally do, I cant post. It was so frustrating. The problems have been resolved, I hope. I still get error message now and then but so it looks fine to me. Im keeping my fingers crossed. Hopefully, my posts wont suddenly just disappear one day. Ill be posting the newer recipes one as I had forgotten the exactly measurements for the older ones :P Lazy me dont have a habit of writing them down. :P I shall not waste time ranting. If you like sesame seed, you have to try this. I know sesame seed is hard to digest. So, I have grind it into powder form. We just love the aroma and the taste of this dish. 
