Cucumber Strawberry Salad
By Audrey Plant
Ingredients
Salad
5-6 mini cucumbers, sliced into ½ inch pieces
2 cups strawberries, sliced
1-pint golden tomatoes, halved
1 cup of blue cheese, wedge or pre-crumbled
¼ cup lightly salted pistachios, roughly chopped
Kosher salt and pepper to taste
Vinaigrette
1 tablespoon lime zest (about 1 lime)
Juice of 1 lime
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
1. Salad can be assembled on a large plate. Using a mandolin or knife, slice cucumbers in ½ inch pieces. Cut up strawberries and tomatoes. Arrange cucumbers, strawberries and tomatoes into a flat mound. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
2. In a small bowl, add lime zest, lime juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. Whisk until combined. Using a large spoon, drizzle vinaigrette over top of salad.
3. Break off large chucks of the blue cheese and scatter them around the salad.
4. Sprinkle chopped pistachios over top. Serve immediately or refrigerate covered for up to 4 hours.
Notes:
1. I like to buy blue cheese in a wedge form, just to make my own sized chucks or crumbles. I typically go for an Amish Blue Cheese, something fragrant and creamy. Be sure to smell your cheese, in this case, stinky is preferred! Blue cheese helps add that needed tang in this fresh salad.
2. The way you slice each ingredient helps build dimension to the salad visually and as you eat it too when it comes to texture.
3. Salt and pepper to taste means to season to your liking. I’d start conservative and then gradually add more.
