I realize I am coming to you all a little late for yesterday's post, the weekend got away from me, as it seemingly does quite often. For that, I am so sorry. Did it feel like summer to you yesterday or what? Certainly did for me! Perfect day to go to a baseball and go to a baseball game I did.
I've got a little confession to make, I love going to baseball games, primarily Yankees games but I do like attending others as well...Baseball screams summer to me -- sunny afternoons, cocktails, home runs, peanuts, and good ole times with friends, you simply can't go wrong!
As I was thinking of what recipe I wanted to share with you, I thought of my favorite drink to ingest on a hot Sunday afternoon at a baseball game, that is apart from water, and no it's not beer nor is it wine, it is a gin and tonic. Call me whatever you want but I find it delish and very fitting for the occasion. So I thought I would give a recipe for a refreshing cucumber salad that works very well with a gin and tonic or simply alone with a nice crisp cold glass of white wine on a hot summer day.
The key for this salad is the thickness or thinness with which you slice your cucumbers, it will keep them light, fresh, and delish! I'd grab about four medium sized cucumbers and slice each paper thinly. Toss them in a bowl, I like to add a little acid here in the form of a little bit of lemon juice over the cucumbers. Then add a drizzle of sesame oil. The nutty richness of the oil is perfect for our light cucumbers. Then dice up into very small squares, a radish and mix together. Next add a little heat, preferably in the form of sriracha sauce, just a few drops, this is strong stuff! Made from sun ripened chilis and garlic, this is an excellent pastey liquid to utilize to infuse most any dish with heat. Next add some fresh sprigs of thyme and then just a really small drizzle of raw honey to bring all of the saltiness, savoriness and sweetness together. This salad now needs a very light thinly sliced cheese and that cheese is: Ricotta Salata. Don't get confused name wise, this isn't a ricotta and don't get confused color wise, this isn't a feta. Hailing from Sardinia, this is a hard white cheese, essentially made from the whey of Pecorino Romano that is pressed, salted, and dried for three months to acquire a firm and yet simultaneously young and smooth texture. On the tongue, this is a sweet and milky cheese, great to add flavor to add salad just as we are doing here. And that's it! Enjoy this with a gin and tonic or a glass of crisp white wine on a humid Summer day.
No comments:
Post a Comment