Smashed Cucumber Salad

Photo Credit: Tony Cenicola/The New York Times

In China, cucumbers are considered the ideal foil for hot weather and hot food. Versions of this salad, pai huang gua, are served all over the country, sometimes spiked with dried chiles and Sichuan peppercorns for more dimensions of flavor. In Beijing, people buy whole chilled cucumbers from street vendors and munch them on the go, much as Americans become attached to their cups of iced coffee in summer. The smashing process, a classic Chinese technique, cracks the skin, helps release the seeds and splits the flesh into appealing craggy pieces. Salting and chilling the cracked cucumbers give them the perfect cool, crunchy, watery mouth feel.

Serves 4 to 6:

Ingredients:

About 2 pounds  English cucumbers
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for cucumbers
2 teaspoons granulated sugar, plus more for cucumbers
1 1/2 Tablespoons rice vinegar
2 teaspoons sesame oil
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 Tablespoon grapeseed or extra-virgin olive oil
2 large garlic cloves, finely minced
Crushed red pepper flakes, to taste
Small handful whole cilantro leaves, for garnish
2 teaspoons toasted white sesame seeds, for garnish

Directions:

Rinse cucumbers and pat dry. Cut crosswise into pieces about 4 inches long. Cut each piece in half lengthwise.

On a work surface, place a piece of cucumber (or several) cut side down. Lay the blade of a large knife flat on top the cucumber and smash down lightly with your other hand. The skin will begin to crack, the flesh will break down and the seeds will separate. Repeat until the whole piece is smashed. Break or slice diagonally into bite-size pieces, leaving the seeds behind.

Place the cucumber pieces in a strainer and toss with a big pinch of salt and a big pinch of sugar. Place a plastic bag filled with ice on top of the cucumbers to serve as a weight and place the strainer over a bowl. Let drain 15 to 30 minutes on the counter, or in the refrigerator until ready to serve, up to 4 hours.

Make the dressing: In a small bowl, combine salt, sugar and rice vinegar. Stir until salt and sugar are dissolved. Stir in sesame oil and soy sauce.

When ready to serve, shake cucumbers well to drain off any remaining liquid and transfer to a serving bowl. Drizzle with grapeseed or olive oil and toss. Add half the dressing, half the garlic and the red pepper flakes to taste, and toss. Keep adding dressing until cucumbers are well coated but not drowned. Taste and add more pepper flakes and garlic if needed. Serve immediately, garnished with cilantro and sesame seeds.

Crispy Sesame Duck Liver Salad

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The delicate acidity and freshness of the  salad serve to counter the richness of the duck livers in this  recipe adapted from Chef Shaun Hill, with a sesame coating adding a pleasing crunch. Chicken livers can be used as a cheaper and more accessible alternative to duck livers if you cannot find them at gourmet or  specialty meat markets.

Serves 2

Ingredients:
For the Duck Livers:
1/2 pound duck liver, trimmed and cleaned of all sinew
Light soy sauce, to taste
2 1/2 Tablespoons sesame seeds, lightly toasted
Salt, to taste
Ground black pepper, to taste
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter
Rapeseed oil

For the Tomato Salad:
2 large ripe tomatoes, left at room temperature
1/2 celery, heart and inner leaves only
1 Tablespoon pine nuts, lightly toasted
1/4 cup  peanut oil
2 Tablespoons light soy sauce
4 teaspoons  mirin, or rice wine vinegar

Directions:
Place a frying pan over a high heat, add enough oil to the pan to coat the base. Season the liver with salt and pepper. As soon as the pan begins to smoke, sear the duck liver until dark golden brown. Reduce the heat and turn the livers over.

Add a small knob of butter and a generous dash of soy sauce. Baste the livers in butter and soy from the pan and remove from the heat. Allow the livers to rest for 2 minutes

Slice the tomatoes into 1/4-inch thick slices, season with salt and set aside.

For the soy dressing, combine the peanut oil, soy and mirin in a small bowl and stir to combine. Place 5 slices of tomato in a tight circle in the center in the plate. Scatter some of the celery and celery leaves over the top and spoon over the dressing.

Roll the livers in the sesame seeds to coat, then, slice on an angle. They should still be slightly pink in the center.

Add the sliced livers and a small sprinkle of the pine nuts to the plates. Drizzle a little more dressing around the plate and serve immediately.

Spiral Carrot Noodle Salad with Ginger Lime Peanut Dressing

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Spring time brings and abundance of fresh produce in the local supermarkets and farmer’s markets .
I am always looking for meals that take less cooking in the kitchen, and mostly raw if possible.Such is the case with spring vegetables, which are perfect for leaving raw, keeping the nutritional value intact.

Using a spiral vegetable slicer. It gives good noodle.This handy little gadget is  much easier to use than a mandoline or vegetable peeler. You can purchase a GEFU Spirelli, Spiral Slicer or a Paderno World Cuisine Spiralizer, which is another incredible kitchen gadget perfect for  spiralizing all sorts of hearty  vegetables like sweet potatoes, beets and butternut squash into noodles.

But if  you don’t have a spiral slicer, you can simply grate the carrots with a box grater to make this recipe.

You can even spiral carrots. Carrots remotely taste like pasta, but as a vegetable, it can offer a vegetarian,  paleo option for those looking for something off the beaten path.The carrot noodles are crisp and fresh and the ginger-lime peanut sauce makes your taste buds  spin. And the bonus is  that recipe is ever so simple and requires zero cooking, because let’s face it, who wants to spend time over a hot stove during this time of year. Also, this is  the perfect dish for “Meatless Mondays”.

Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients:
For the Carrot Pasta:
5 large carrots, peeled and spiraled into noodles
1/3 cup roasted cashews or peanuts
2 Tablespoons fresh cilantro, finely chopped

For the Ginger-Lime Peanut Sauce:
2 Tablespoons creamy peanut butter
4 Tablespoons coconut milk
A pinch cayenne pepper
2 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 Tablespoon fresh ginger, peeled and grated
1 Tablespoon lime juice
Kosher salt,  to taste
Sliced scallions, for garnish

Directions:
To Prepare the Ginger-Lime Peanut Sauce:
Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and mix together until smooth and
creamy.

To Prepare the Carrot Pasta:
Wash carrots well, peel them, and pat them dry.Using your spiral slicer, make noodles out of all of the carrots. It will be more difficult to make the noodles once there is only a few inches of carrot left, so you can grate what’s left of the carrot.

To serve, place the carrot noodles into a large serving bowl. Pour the Ginger-Lime Sauce over the noodles and gently toss together. Garnish with roasted cashews or peanuts, scallions and freshly chopped cilantro.

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