Cucumber and wakame salad

A mandolin or vegetable slicer will make light work of slicing the cucumber. Alternatively, slicing it with a knife will work almost as well. Discard the seeds to stop the salad becoming too watery.

VServes 4 Preparation: 10 minutes Chilling: 30 minutes

INGREDIENTS

15g wakame seaweed (dried) 4 tbsp white wine vinegar 2 tbsp agave nectar or honey

4 tbsp soy or tamari sauce (or you can use coconut aminos)

1 large cucumber, halved along its length, de-seeded and cut into thin slices

1 tbsp sesame oil

For garnish:

1 tsp white sesame seeds

1 tsp black sesame seeds

METHOD

Place the seaweed in a bowl, cover with 300ml lukewarm water then stir and leave to stand for 10-15 minutes to hydrate the seaweed.

Drain through a fine-mesh sieve, then rinse under cold running water, squeezing well to remove the excess water. Pat dry with kitchen paper or a clean tea-towel.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the vinegar, agave (or honey) and sesame oil, along with the soy sauce (or coconut aminos), then set aside.

Into a separate bowl, place the sliced, deseeded cucumber, along with the wakame and toss well to combine, before pouring the dressing over them and mixing again.

Garnish with the white and black sesame seeds and refrigerate for 30 minutes to chill before serving.

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Variations: This salad is delicious topped with slices of ripe avocado. It’s also great with fish or tofu as part of a poke bowl. To make it more substantial, you could stir in a large batch of cooked, cooled soba noodles to soak up the delicious dressing and stretch the salad further.