Cucumber Plum Salad

In this heat and humidity salads are God send. I made a quick salad today with Cucumber, carrot and plum with some seeds, nuts and raisins. 

Raisins are my new found love in salads. 

I like the way they cut the tartness of the dressing. 

Ingredients

Cucumber.          1 very small

Carrot.                1 very small

Plum.                  1

Baby spinach      8-10 leaves

Raisins.               1 tbsp

Sesame seeds      1 tsp

Walnuts               1 tbsp 

Dressing

EVOO.                1 tsp

Lemon juice        1 tsp

Pepper pd.           1/8 tsp

Salt                      1/2 tsp

Mint leaves          2 

Method

Wash and peel carrot and Cucumber.

Chop cucumber into very small cubes.

Using a peeler peel thick strips of carrot. Now cut them into small pieces.

Cut plum also into small pieces. 

Mix Cucumber, carrot, Plum and raisins and keep it in the fridge. 

The juices from the salad will help the raisins to plump up.

Roast walnuts and Sesame seeds.

Wash baby spinach and pat dry.

Mix the dressing ingredients with a whisk . 

To plate: 

Arrange baby spinach. 

Arrange the Cucumber mix on top.

Pour the dressing and toss lightly.  Sprinkle walnuts and Sesame seeds. 

Garnish with mint leaves and serve immediately. 

Watermelon Gazpacho

Gazpacho or Andalusian Gazpacho is a cold soup. A classic of Spanish cuisine, it originated in the southern region of Andalusia.

It  is a blend of raw vegetables. Tomato  gazpacho is quite popular but I prefer watermelon gazpacho as it is not as tart.
It's is quite refreshing in the hot summer months. The best part is it can be made   in advance  and refrigerated as it tastes better the next day.

Ingredients : Makes 2 glasses

Watermelon             2 cups
Cucumber                 1/2 cup
Tomato                      1/2 cup
Onion                         1/4 cup
Jalapeño                    2 slices
Mint                            8-10 leaves
Garlic                          2 cloves
Red wine vinegar     2 tsp
EVOO                         2 tsp
Salt                              to taste
Pepper                        pd to taste

Method

1. Deseed the watermelon and chop into small cubes.
2. Similarly cube tomato, cucumber and onion.
3. If you want you can remove seeds of cucumber and tomato also but I don't.
4. Make a coarse puree of 1  and 1/2 cup watermelon, tomato cucumber, onion, Jalapeño slices, garlic, and mint in a blender.
5. Remove in a bowl.
6. Mix in red wine vinegar, EVOO, salt and pepper pd.
7. Keep it in the refrigerator for several hours.
8. Serve topped with remaining watermelon cubes.
9. Garnish with mint leaves or watermelon slices.