Cucumber Salad with Herby Jalapeno Salsa
By OcadoLife
Published on 04 September 2022
Vibrant and crunchy, this zippy Cucumber Salad with Herby Jalapeño Salsa from food writer and chef Ixta Belfrage is the perfect accompaniment to her Slow-cooked Mango and Chipotle Pork with Crackling as it cuts through the richness of the dish. The salsa can be made a few hours in advance, but don’t combine it with the salad until you’re about to serve.Time and servings
15 minsTotal time
8Servings
5 minsPrep time
10 minsCooking time
Ingredients
- 800 g of baby cucumbers, ends trimmed, cut into large diagonal chunks
- 1.25 fine sea salt
- 200 g of salad onions, trimmed
- 0.5 tbsp of olive oil
- 20 g of chives, finely chopped
- 10 g of basil, roughly chopped
- 6 tbsp of light olive oil, plus a splash to serve
- 1 jalapeño chilli (deseeded if you prefer a milder heat)
- 1 lime, halved, to serve plus extra 2 tbsp lime juice (approx. 1-2 limes)
Method
Step 1
Combine the baby cucumbers and ¾ tsp fine sea salt in a large mixing bowl; mix well then set aside.Step 2
Place a large frying pan over a high heat. Toss the salad onions in the olive oil and season with salt. Once the pan is very hot, add the salad onions, spreading them out; don’t overcrowd the pan, so do this in batches if needed. Cook for about 7-8 mins, turning halfway, until nicely charred in patches on both sides but not burnt all over. Set aside to cool a little.Step 3
Meanwhile, make the salsa – add the chives, basil, light olive oil, jalapeño chilli, lime juice and remaining ½ tsp salt to a blender and blitz until smooth; if you don’t have a blender, you can chop everything finely by hand instead and mix together.Step 4
Chop the charred salad onions into quarters and add to the bowl of cucumbers, along with the salsa; mix well then pile onto a serving platter. Add a splash of light olive oil to the salsa bowl and swirl it around to pick up any flavours left behind, then drizzle over the salad. Serve with lime halves for squeezing over.