Using cucumbers in a salad seems obvious, but they can be very wet, and after a short while, your salad might look more like a cold soup. Here, the seeds and middle part are scooped out, then the cucumbers are salted and left to drain excess liquid. You'll be surprised by the amount of liquid released, and the cucumber flavor will really come through.
When serving, you could toss the whole thing, but we found it dramatic and more appealing to create a ring of cucumbers and plop a healthy scoop of Ceci Piccoli, already dressed, in the center.
- 2 medium cucumbers
- About 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
- 1½ cups cooked Rancho GordoCeci Piccoli (Small Chickpea)or鹰嘴豆beans, drained
- ½ cup or so of your favorite vinaigrette
- Freshly ground pepper
年代erves 4
Cut the cucumbers in half lengthwise and scoop out the centers with the seeds, leaving all the cucumber flesh. Slice each half into bite-sized pieces. Lightly salt (1 teaspoon should be plenty), toss, and leave them to drain in a sieve for at least 20 minutes, up to an hour.
In a bowl, toss the chickpeas with the vinaigrette and check for seasoning. Place the salted cucumber pieces in a salad bowl in a ring and add the dressed chickpeas to the center. Add freshly ground pepper to taste.
Mix at the table.