Name: Cucumber crunch salad with curried cashews
Ingredients: 4 lebanese cucumbers, halved, deseeded and cut into ½cm-thick slices (350g); 400g ripe datterini (or cherry) tomatoes, halved; salt and black pepper; 1 red onion, peeled and cut into thin rounds (130g); 1 large carrot, trimmed, peeled, then cut into thin ribbons (I use a vegetable peeler; 100g); 1 red chilli, thinly sliced into rounds (remove and discard the pith and seeds if you prefer less heat; 20g); 20g flat-leaf parsley leaves, roughly chopped; ½ tsp nigella seeds, toasted; 100g cashew nuts; 1 tsp olive oil; 2½ tsp madras curry powder; 70g tamarind pulp; 1½ tbsp maple syrup; 2½ tbsp fresh lime juice (from about 2 limes); 20g mint leaves; 2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed; 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice; 75ml olive oil

Cucumber crunch salad with curried cashews

Summer Salad

Serves 6

Prep 25 min

Cook 20 min

This fresh, crunchy salad is the perfect accompaniment to all kinds of savoury rice dishes.

Ingredients

4	lebanese cucumbers, halved, deseeded and cut into ½cm-thick slices (350g)
400g	ripe datterini (or cherry) tomatoes, halved
	salt and black pepper
1	red onion, peeled and cut into thin rounds (130g)
1	large carrot, trimmed, peeled, then cut into thin ribbons (I use a vegetable peeler; 100g)
1	red chilli, thinly sliced into rounds (remove and discard the pith and seeds if you prefer less heat; 20g)
20g	flat-leaf parsley leaves, roughly chopped
½ tsp	nigella seeds, toasted
CURRIED CASHEWS
100g	cashew nuts
1 tsp	olive oil
2½ tsp	madras curry powder
TAMARIND DRESSING
70g	tamarind pulp
1½ tbsp	maple syrup
2½ tbsp	fresh lime juice (from about 2 limes)
MINT DRESSING
20g	mint leaves
2	garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
2 tbsp	fresh lemon juice
75ml	olive oil

Method

Heat the oven to 170C (150C fan)/325F.
In a large bowl, mix the cucumbers and tomatoes with a half-teaspoon of salt and leave to sit for 30 minutes.
In a small bowl, mix all the ingredients for the curried cashews with a quarter-teaspoon of salt, then spread out on a small oven tray and roast for 15 minutes, until deeply golden and dark in places. Remove and leave to cool.
Meanwhile, mix all the tamarind dressing ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
Put all the mint dressing ingredients in a small food processor, add a half-teaspoon of salt, and blitz to an almost-smooth green dressing.
Drain the cucumber and tomato, discarding the liquid they’ve released. On a large, lipped platter, artfully layer up the cucumber, tomato, onion rounds, carrot ribbons, chilli, parsley and both dressings. Top with a scattering of the cashews and nigella seeds, and serve.