C – I have a love-hate relationship with cucumbers.
I love how hydrating, cooling, refreshing and delicious they can be. But, there are somethings about cucumbers I dislike. If you get them too young they can be bitter. If you get them too old, the skin and seeds are tough and inedible. Some grocery stores put wax on the skin to keep them longer.
Picking one can sometimes be difficult. I try to get organic cucumbers whenever possible. They don’t put wax on them. If they do, question your grocer. I usually look for cucumbers that aren’t wrinkled; in the end, those are usually the old ones. I also look for ones that aren’t too big; they usually have big seeds, which usually means they have been on the vine a lot longer.
I still haven’t figured out how to avoid getting bitter ones. I usually see if the whole thing is bitter or if just one side is bitter. If one side is bitter I just use the non-bitter side and discard the rest. I noticed that my friend the Internet removed the big seeds. I did too. I like the small seeds because of the texture and it feels more refreshing with the seeds intact.
With this salad, I used a regular cucumber and just peeled a few strips of the skin away. The skin was a little thick, but I wanted some texture. The seeds were still small, so I kept them in. There was no bitterness. I was really happy.
I would have preferred an English cucumber, which has a thinner skin and small seeds. My grocer was selling it for way too much. No thanks. They didn’t have any Persian ones either, or pickling ones. So, regular cucumbers worked.
| Cucumber Week: Cucumber Mango Avocado Chicken Salad |
- 1 cucumber
- 1 mango, peeled, seeded and cut into ½ inch cubes
- ½ Fresno chili, thinly sliced with seeds removed
- ½ cup cilantro, roughly chopped
- ½ cup red onion, chopped
- 1 cup cooked chicken breast, cut into ½ inch cubes
- 1 ripe avocado, cut into ½ inch cubes
- Juice of 2 limes
- Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper and granulated sugar to taste
- Peel some of the skin off of the cucumber but leave some for texture unless the skin is too thick. If it’s too thick peel it all off. Trim the top and bottom and discard. If seeds look old, remove and discard.
- Cut cucumber into ½ inch cubes.
- Mix remaining ingredients together.
- Set aside for 30 minutes to allow the flavors to mingle.
- Serve.
- Enjoy!
I loved this salad with all the different textures and flavor combinations. I love the subtle flavor of the cucumber, the sweet mango and the sharp onion flavors. I loved the tender cucumber, creamy avocado, juicy mango, crunchy onions and moist chicken breast. The textures all combined so well. It’s a really filling salad and so easy to make.
I guess I have figured out how to stop disliking cucumbers. It took me awhile. My hate part of the relationship is gone.