Cucumber-Honeydew Salad

Mexican with black beans, chips, and salsa.  Italian with a side salad.  Boring!  As much as I love to cook, I do find myself falling into a side dish rut.  I’m trying to be very conscious about this, though, because once you become aware of a problem, the next step is to address it, right? 

I took that step with this side dish.  Partly to address the aforementioned problem and partly becuase I realy wasn’t sure what to serve with Thai chicken pizza.  Is it Italian?  Thai?  What do I do with that?  Luckily, Josie came to my rescue with this suggestion, which she said her family really enjoyed.  

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from it, but was intrigued by the ingredient combination.  I love everything in it, so I figured why not?  Wasn’t I trying to expand the side dish repertoire, after all?  Josie’s recommendation was right on target and I’m happy to say we liked the salad just as her family did.  It had an entirely different flavor than any side dish I’ve made before (score!) and put summer produce to great use.  I’d call that a win-win!

Cucumber-Honeydew Salad

slightly adapted from www.epicurious.com

Ingredients:

1 TBSP plus 2 tsp. rice-wine vinegar

1 TBSP minced peeled fresh ginger

2 tsp. reduced-sodium soy sauce

1 tsp. sugar

1 tsp. sesame oil, or to taste

1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes, or to taste

2 TBSP vegetable oil

1 cucumber, halved lengthwise, seeded, and sliced thin (about 2 c.)

2 c. 1-inch cubes of honeydew melon

2 scallions, minced

1 TBSP sesame seeds, toasted lightly and cooled

Directions:

1.  In a bowl whisk together the vinegar, the ginger, soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, red pepper flakes, and oil until the dressing is combined well. 

2.  Add the cucumber, melon, and scallions.  Toss until combined well, and sprinkle with sesame seeds.  Can be made up to four hours ahead.

one year ago: basic pizza dough

three years ago: oven-friend chicken