Smashed Cucumber & Cashew Salad
This smashed cucumber & cashew salad is super easy to make & is packed full of flavour! It goes great with homemade curries & leftover roasted meats.
Servings: 4 People
Equipment
- Large Mixing Bowl
- Rolling Pin/Meat Tenderising Hammer (See Notes)
- Small Frying Pan
- Pestle & Mortar
- Small Baking Tray
Ingredients
Salad
- 1 Large Cucumber
- ½ tsp Table Salt
- 50 g Cashews
- 1 tbsp Finely Chopped Coriander
Dressing
- 1 tsp Cumin Seeds
- 2 tsp Sesame Seeds
- 1 tbsp Groundnut Oil (Or Veg Oil)
- 1 tbsp Fresh Lime Juice
- 1 tsp Caster Sugar
- ¼ tsp Chilli Flakes
Instructions
Salad Prep
- Preheat an oven to 200°c/180°c fan (392°f/356°f).This is to toast the cashews!
- Place the cucumber onto a chopping board then use a rolling pin or a meat tenderising hammer to whack it, until it splits open.
- Next, trim each end off the cucumber then cut it in half down the length. Chop the cucumber into rough 1 inch pieces then place into a mixing bowl.
- Sprinkle the cucumber with the table salt, mix to combine then leave to salt for 20 minutes.This draws moisture out of the cucumber & enhances it's flavour.
- Next, place the cashews onto a small baking tray, bake in the preheated oven for 4-6 minutes until golden brown & toasted then leave to cool completely. Roughly chop once cool.
Salad Dressing
- Add the cumin seeds into a small frying pan then cook over a medium heat until toasted & fragrant. This will only take a minute or so. Once toasted, add the cumin seeds into a pestle & mortar then crush into a coarse powder.
- Next, add the sesame seeds into the frying pan then cook over a medium heat until golden brown.
- Add the sesame seeds, oil, lime juice, sugar & chilli flakes into the crushed cumin seeds, stir to combine then set aside.
Salad
- Once the cucumber has been salted, they'll be some liquid in the mixing bowl. Drain this off but keep the cucumber pieces in the bowl.
- Next, add the dressing, chopped cashews & coriander into the mixing bowl with the cucumber then stir to combine. Serve immediately.
Notes
1. Salting The Cucumber - Salting the cucumber really does make a difference when making salads! The salt removes some of the moisture from the cucumber whilst seasoning it at the same time. Make sure to give the cucumber at least 20 minutes of salting time & also, drain off as much liquid from the salted cucumbers as possible before dressing.
2. Toasted Cashews - For the best flavour, I'd recommend toasting the cashews yourself! If you're not a fan of cashews, you could use a different nut instead or leave them out entirely. Peanuts would make a good alternative.
3. Leftovers - This salad is best served straight away but any leftovers will keep for up to a day in the fridge.