Bashed cucumbers, green chillies, mint and spring onions

Summer

I’ve been growing cucumbers in my greenhouse. Just three plants produce enough cucumbers to keep us going right through the summer. I kid you not – they are as sweet as melons and have a very similar texture. I’ve been trying out all sorts of different recipes using my homegrown cucs, and this is one I keep on coming back to. It’s quick and different. Bashing the cucumbers changes their texture: it tears and softens them and the craggy pieces take up the dressing beautifully. This salad is so good on its own, or try it with a piece of steamed fish, some seared scallops or a crispy duck.

Serves 4

Ingredients

2 cucumbers
a couple of pinches of sea salt
4–6 spring onions (scallions), fairly thinly sliced
1 or 2 green chillies, fairly thinly sliced
2–3 teaspoons sesame seeds
1 tablespoon sesame oil
½ small garlic clove, very finely grated
2 tablespoons tamari sauce
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon runny honey
a handful of mint, leaves picked and cut into fine ribbons
a small handful of coriander (cilantro), leaves and stems roughly chopped

Method

Place the cucumbers on a board. Cut each one in half lengthways, then each length in half. Place the cucumber pieces, two at a time, into a large, clean food bag. Bash them with a rolling pin or something similarly weighty. The idea is to crack and split the skin and flesh (although you may need to exercise some restraint – you don’t want to make a purée). Take the bashed cucumber out of the bag and cut it up into bitesize, ragged chunks.

Pile all the bashed cucumber pieces into a colander, add 2 healthy pinches of salt and stir it through.

Set the colander over a bowl and place it in the fridge to cool. After about 30 minutes, the cucumber will have lost some of its liquid. This makes it extra-crunchy. Tip the cucumber into a big bowl. Add the spring onions (scallions) and chilli to the cucumbers, along with the sesame seeds and oil, garlic, tamari, cider vinegar and honey. Tumble everything together, let it stand for 5 minutes, then tumble it all together again.

Add the mint and coriander (cilantro) and turn the herbs through the cucumbers. Serve at once.

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