spicy cucumber salad with toasted almonds

Apologies for my long absence; but now I am back and raring to go again. Home life has been quite busy recently: moving house and then leaving for a two week holiday straight away meant coming home to a disastrously messy flat and no time to fix it up. Happily, I came back from Christmas with an armful of fresh, tasty new cookbooks. So now that I have found my countertops and had the organic veg box delivery reinstated, I am happily humming to myself and cooking again.


This cucumber salad is from one of my brand new books, New Flavours for Vegetables, compiled by Williams-Sonoma, a gift from my cousin Katlyn. The fresh cucumber and spicy chilli pepper made this a refreshing side dish, and made a lovely light meal with grilled fish and mixed sauteed veggies.


Spicy Cucumber Salad with Toasted Almonds
adapted from New Flavours for Vegetables

1/3 c (80 ml) rice vinegar
4 t sugar
sea salt and ground black pepper
1 cucumber
1 small, mild onion
1 small green chilli
3 T whole almonds

In a small saucepan, heat the rice vinegar and sugar gently until sugar is dissolved. Leave to cool completely.
Meanwhile, toast the almonds in a dry frying pan or in the oven, if it is already on. Coarsely chop the toasted almonds.
Thinly slice the cucumber, onion, and chilli. Remove the chilli seeds to make a milder salad, or keep them to make a more spicy one.
Add the veggies and vinegar mixture to a bowl and toss gently. Allow to sit for approximately thirty minutes, stirring it occasionally, to blend the flavours.
Sprinkle with the almonds just before serving.