Scrumptious Crunchy Cucumber and Coconut Salad

Whether it’s a beautiful summers day or you’re looking for the perfect side dish – look no further! This scrumptiously crunchy cucumber and coconut salad is fresh, healthy, and deliciously served with an Asian-inspired salad dressing.

This salad is full of healthy ingredients that are full of health benefits.

Cucumbers, for example, are full of nutrients and low in calories. And because they contain such a good amount of water and soluble fibre, it makes them perfect for staying hydrated and even helps with weight loss. 

The coconut flakes add to that roasted crunch factor that makes this salad so much better. Coconut is a super healthy fat and source of protein and especially high in manganese. This is a mineral that is essential for bone health and the metabolism of carbohydrates, proteins, and cholesterol.

Together with the flavours of red pepper, fresh mint and toasted cashew nuts, the coconut and cucumber combination blends beautifully together. And topped off with feta cheese, all your salad needs now is a dressing.

Chef’s tip for the tangy dressing

For this Asian-inspired salad dressing, you will be using flavourful and pungent ingredients such as fish sauce and soy sauce. These two ingredients definitely add to the “umami” taste that is so often present in Asian cuisine. Mix together with some sriracha sauce for extra heat and squeeze some lime juice to really make the flavours pop.

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Scrumptious Crunchy Cucumber and Coconut Salad

This summer salad is a treat for the taste buds with fresh flavours of cucumber and coconut topped off with a tangy Asian-inspired dressing.

Author Irene Muller

Ingredients

For the Dressing:

• 1 teaspoon fish sauce (omit if vegan, add extra soy sauce at the end if necessary, to taste)
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce (use tamari if gluten-free)
• juice from ½ lime (reserve the other ½ lime to squeeze the juice on at the end)
• ¼-1/2 teaspoons sriracha, to tastea few tablespoons of water, if needed, to thin it out

For the Salad:

• 2 reals feta cheese 
• ½ cup chopped cucumber
• ½ cup chopped red pepper
• 4 or 5 mint leaves, chopped
• ¼ cup cashews, toasted & chopped (optional)
• ¼ cup toasted coconut flakes, the flavor of your choice

Instructions

• In a small bowl, whisk together all dressing ingredients.
• Add a bit of water if necessary to thin the dressing to your desired consistency. Taste and adjust seasonings. Place in the refrigerator while you chop salad ingredients.
• Toss all salad ingredients, slice the feta cheese, except for the cashews and coconut flakes, with the dressing. Taste and decide how much or little dressing you like. Adjust for seasonings. Add the cashews and coconut flakes on top at the end so they remain crunchy. 
• Squeeze more lime juice on top (or serve with lime slices on the side) and serve.

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