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Smashed Cucumber Salad

Smashed Cucumber Salad

This is such a fresh and simple salad! And it’s fun to whack the cucumbers. Removing a few strips of peel from the cucumber makes it easier to smash—plus, it looks cool. Just keep your fingers out of the way, and go easy. You just want to soften them—not turn them into juice. “My family loved it,” Kids Advisory Board member Jai Kalwani reported after testing this recipe at home.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings 3 cups

kitchen gear

  • Cutting board
  • Sharp knife (adult needed)
  • Peeler
  • Measuring spoons
  • Plastic bag
  • Small frying pan or rolling pin
  • Small mixing bowl
  • Flexible spatula or spoon
  •  

Ingredients
 

  • 1 English cucumber (the kind wrapped in plastic), washed and partially peeled
  • 1⁄4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon white or rice vinegar

Instructions
 

  • Put the cucumber in the plastic bag and put the bag on the cutting board.
  • Gently hit the cucumber with the frying pan or rolling pin until it is smashed.
  • Chop the smashed cucumber into 1- to 1½-inch pieces (if they’re not already small enough from smashing).
  • Put the cucumber pieces in the bowl, add the salt and vinegar, and stir well. Taste a piece of cucumber. If it needs a pinch more salt or a splash more vinegar, add it and then taste again. Serve right away or cover and refrigerate up to 1 hour.  

Notes

GET CREATIVE

  • Add 1 small garlic clove, peeled and finely chopped.
  • Add 1 tablespoon soy sauce.
  • Add 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil.
  • Swap in lemon juice for the vinegar.