Yotam Ottolenghi Raita

Destined to become a new summer salad to add to the cucumber and tomato list for the summer is Yotam Ottolenghi’s Raita a perky yogurt dressed salad of cucumbers, tomato and red onion sprinkled with fresh cilantro and mint then chilled, what a fabulous addition to any cookout and comes together quickly for a last-minute salad option.  That is to say if you shop like I do and grab whatever is fresh at the vegetable stand.   Luckily I did a quick small batch of preserved lemons last week and perfect or the salad, but if you don’t have any, use a little more lemon in the dressing and grate a little zest over the salad before mixing.

Adapted of course, but here is the link to Yotam’s recipe…

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/jul/17/cucumber-recipes-yotam-ottolenghi-soup-pickled-raita

1 large English cucumber or the equivalent in Kirby cuts, quartered lengthways, seeds removed and cut into1/2 inch pieces
¼ medium red onion, peeled and diced
1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, diced
1 cubed heirloom tomato
1/2 medium red onion, small dice

Yotam’s Dressing adaptation from Smitten Kitchen, link below

1 cup plain, full-fat yogurt
1 garlic clove, peeled
1-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled
1/4 teaspoon (+ to taste)granulated sugar
juice from 1/2 lemon and a bit of grated zest (I used 3 teaspoons, minced preserved lemon)
1/4 large jalapeño, minced (suggested was 1 jalapeño, but the ones that I had were really hot)
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
2 tablespoons chopped mint leaves, more for garnish
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro leaves, more for garnish
Salt and pepper

Make the dressing in a medium bowl, use a microplane grater to grate the garlic and ginger over it. Stir in sugar, lemon, chile, seeds, half of the mint and cilantro and season it with salt to taste. Set aside until you’re ready to serve the salad.

Cut the cucumbers in half lengthwise, then each half three more times into long wedge-shaped pieces.   Cut them into 1 to 1 1/2-inch lengths on a diagonal and add them to a big bowl. Pile tomatoes and onion on top and when you’re ready to eat, mix half of the dressing with the salad. Sprinkle with remaining mint and cilantro and serve with extra yogurt dressing on the side.

salt and pepper to taste…