Summer Radishes & Cucumbers

Summer is the time of year we prefer chilled soups over steaming hot stews; crisp & cool salads over roasted veggies; and ice-cream, well for me over most things! This salad of cucumbers and radishes is one of my favorites to serve with fresh spring rolls, grilled salmon, seared scallops or spicy fried rice.

Peel 2 English cucumbers and slice on the diagonal into 1/2" thick rounds.

Place in a colander over a bowl and toss with 1&1/2 teaspoons of sea salt.

Let drain for at least 15 minutes, gently press on the cucumbers to extract their juice. Discard the juice.

Wash a small bunch of radishes. Slice 1/4" thick rounds (if small radishes), if larger slice 1/4" half moons.

In a medium bowl whisk together 1/4 cup rice vinegar & 1/8 cup agave.

Toss the cucumbers & radishes with the vinaigrette and chill for at least an hour prior to serving.

Variations:

This recipe is an adaptation of my original recipe for Chilled Cucumber Shallot Salad, in which I slice 4-6 shallots into 1/4" half moons and let them bloom in the rice vinegar at room temperature for 30 minutes. Strain the vinegar from the shallots and then proceed to make the vinaigrette as directed above. The shallots are tossed with the cucumbers, 1/2 of a bunch of coarsely chopped cilantro & the vinaigrette and chilled for at least an hour prior to serving.