This simple salad takes but minutes to put together, and is a welcome dish whenever snap peas and cucumbers are at their freshest. A delicious salad throughout the summer months on your dinner table, it also travels well and makes for a perfect potluck side dish. If you have trouble finding pre-grated cotija cheese, it is easy to grate yourself, however you could also use grated parmigiano or pecorino instead. Make sure to taste for seasoning after you toss it together. I always find a little extra lemon juice just before serving to be needed, and occasionally a bit more salt as well.
Lemony Snap Pea & Cucumber Salad
This simple salad takes but minutes to put together, and is a welcome dish whenever snap peas and cucumbers are at their freshest. A delicious salad throughout the summer months on your dinner table, it also travels well and makes for a perfect potluck side dish. If you have trouble finding pre-grated cotija cheese, it is easy to grate yourself, however you could also use grated parmigiano or pecorino instead. Make sure to taste for seasoning after you toss it together. I always find a little extra lemon juice just before serving to be needed, and occasionally a bit more salt as well.
Ingredients
- 1 large Persian cucumber, see note
- 2 heaping cups snap peas
- 1 large garlic clove
- 1 large lemon
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt, such as Morton’s
- 1 bunch fresh basil, about ¼ cup loosely packed
- ¼ cup grated cotija cheese
- 3-4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Grate the garlic using a fine rasp grater and place it in your serving bowl. Squeeze the juice from half of the lemon and add it to the bowl along with the salt and plenty of freshly cracked black pepper. Mix it to combine.
- Remove the strings from the snap peas by taking the very tip off and pulling the string off. Chop them coarsely, and add to the bowl. Using the side of your chef’s knife, smack the cucumber to lightly smash it (sometimes I need to press on the side of it with my other hand and lay some weight into it). Then cut the smashed cucumber into quarters lengthwise, and coarsely chop into chunks. Add it to the bowl.
- Chop the basil, and add it to the bowl, then add the cotija cheese. Pour the oil into the bowl. At this point you can refrigerate it until ready to serve.
- To serve, toss everything together. Taste for seasoning, and add more lemon juice, more salt, or more olive oil if needed.
Notes
If you cannot find Persian cucumbers, which are smaller in size like those used for pickles, you can use an English cucumber and use only ⅓ or ½ of it depending on its size.
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