Book Forty-Two: Cooking Thin with Chef Kathleen

by Kathleen Daelemans


            Apple, Cucumber, and Tomato Salad

I am sensing a theme here... several of my recipes of late have jalapeño and lime, and I must say they are two of my favorite ingredients.

I ended up short on time, otherwise I would have used a mandoline to slice my apples and cucumbers to have them uniform in size. If I were to make this again (which I won't because the hubby did not care for it - well the mint mostly) I would cube everything. I found it awkward to eat with large pieces of apple and tomato.

The recipe instructs you to peel and core the tomato. I have never come across a recipe asking for a tomato to be cored - not sure if she meant to seed it as well, which I did, for I thought it would make a nicer presentation; however I did not peel the tomato for I did not see a need for it, not did I want the hassle of peeling it.

(Edit: This was much better the next day!)

Success meter (1-3): 3

amazon

I soaked my apples in lemon water

until serving time. 

Apple, Cucumber, and Tomato Salad

Serves 4

1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, and thinly sliced (I used an English cucumber – did not seed/peel)

Coarse-grained salt

2 large tomatoes, cored, peeled, and cut into wedges (did not peel)

3 scallions, thinly sliced (white part only)

2 large apples, peeled, cored, and cut into wedges (did not peel)

½ jalapeño, seeded and minced (more or less to taste)

2 Tbl roughly chopped mint leaves

1 Tbl olive oil

Juice of 1 lime (or more to taste)

Place cucumber slices in a colander. Season generously with salt and toss until well coated. Place a 1-gallon zip-lock bag filled with water and sealed, over cucumbers to weight them down and let stand in sink 1 hour. You can skip this step altogether but the salad won’t have as intense a cucumber flavor. (personally I did not notice an "intense" flavor - I would skip this part)

Place cucumber, tomatoes, scallions, apples, jalapeño, and mint in a medium non-reactive bowl. Pour olive oil over salad and toss to coat evenly. Add lime juice and season with salt to taste. (The cucumbers I felt were salty enough. I did not add extra) Serve immediately.

Cooking Thin with Chef Kathleen/Kathleen Daelemans