Crispy Asian Salad - and a Mystery

You know, for a Hare, I’m not a big fan of salads.

Growing up I never had to “eat my vegetables.” Mom didn’t cook a lot in the first place, and she rarely had anything beyond mashed potatoes, corn, or green beans. Salad was never a big dinner item at home. I considered myself a carnivore, since that was the mainstay of my diet for a long time. Vegetables were not something I ate – veggies were what food ate.

This has changed – I’m much more omnivorous than I used to be, and salads in general aren’t that bad. This particular recipe I have yet to try, but I like cucumbers and almost every Asian dish I’ve tried, so this seemed like a good thing to keep around.

Crispy Asian Salad

3 tablespoons rice vinegar
Juice and zest of 1 medium lime
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon sugar
Scant ½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon roasted red pepper flakes
4 cups shredded iceberg lettuce (about ½ a small head)
1 medium cucumber with peel, halved lengthwise, seeded, thinly sliced
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons salted roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped
¼ cup chopped cilantro

Whisk vinegar, lime juice and zest, sesame oil, sugar, salt, and pepper flakes in a small non-reactive bowl. In a large bowl toss lettuce, cucumber slices, ½ cup peanuts, and half of the cilantro.

Salad can be prepared 3 hours ahead. Cover and refrigerate salad and dressing separately, cover and leave remaining nuts and cilantro at room temperature. Bring refrigerated ingredients to room temperature before using.

Toss salad with half of dressing to coat well.

Notes from the Hare

Wait, you say – only use half the dressing on the salad? What about the rest?
The rest can be drizzled onto tomorrow’s recipe, of course.