A super-easy and healthy side dish to go with your grilled entrée. According to The Endless Meal where I found this recipe “Everything works about this salad: the crunchy but slightly softened cucumbers, the creamy avocados, the earthy cilantro, and the hint of spice that tingles your tongue.”
Making this cucumber and avocado salad requires maceration. The basis of which is tossing the cucumbers in a little salt and sugar then letting them sit at room temperature while some of the juice is drawn out. The process softens the cucumber just a little and makes a sort of dressing for the salad.
NOTE: You can prepare it ahead of time by combining the cucumbers and spices in the bag but NOT sprinkling the salt and sugar over. Place the bag in the fridge for up to 8 hours. When you are ready, take the bag out of the fridge, add the salt and sugar, let it sit for a half hour then continue with the rest of the preparation.
Yes, it is a “green salad” but quite different from what most of us picture because there is no lettuce at all! The recipe calls for a red Thai chili, but in lieu of that we used a green serrano making it even “greener”. The flavors and textures paired wonderfully with our grilled pork chop, but the salad does not store well after the initial meal, so eat it up! (That is why we cut the recipe in half for the two of us—with just a tad remaining.)
Avocado Cucumber Salad
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup minced ginger
- 2 English cucumbers, quartered and sliced
- 1 tsp. sea salt
- 1 tsp. sugar
- 4 garlic cloves, finely minced
- 1 Thai red chili, seeded and finely chopped
- 4 celery stalks, thinly sliced
- 1 Tbsp. neutral-flavored oil
- Juice from 1/2 lime
- 2 ripe avocados, diced
- 1/4 cup each: basil leaves and cilantro, chopped
Macerate in Ziploc 
Add celery to cucumber mix 
Stir in herbs and avocado 
Serve with large spoon
Directions
- Place the ginger, cucumbers, sea salt, sugar, garlic, and red chili in a large, resealable plastic bag. Squish the bag around a little so that everything is mixed together. Set the bag aside on your counter for a half hour.
- Pour everything from the bag into a salad bowl. Add the celery, oil, and lime juice and toss well. Season to taste with sea salt. Add the diced avocados, basil, and cilantro and gently toss once more.
- Serve within a half hour.
Adapted from a recipe found on theendlessmeal.com
Accounting for Taste 