Creamed Cucumber Salad (vegan)
This cucumber salad is one of our all-time family favorites. I veganized my mom’s recipe many years ago, and I’m sure she would have approved to this dairy free version. It’s as creamy and flavorful but much lighter and easier to digest. So far, I’ve always used apple cider vinegar to add some tartness, but why not try something new? A dear friend of mine suggested that cucumbers go very well with lemon juice, so I decided to apply this new idea to my old recipe. Here it is, and I’ll leave it up to you to decide which one you want to use, apple cider vinegar or lemon juice. I love both!
Remember to soak cashews!
You will need:
- a high speed blender
Ingredients:
- 2 medium-size cucumbers, peeled, thinly sliced (I used a mandoline slicer)
- ½ medium-size sweet onion, finely diced
- 2 tsp Celtic sea salt
- 1 cup (140 g) raw, unsalted cashews, soaked in sufficient water for at least 4 hours or overnight, drained
- ¼ cup (60 ml) filtered water
- 1½ tsp maple syrup
- 4 Tbsp freshly pressed lemon juice or apple cider vinegar (more to taste, but start slow)
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
- fresh dill to taste, minced
Preparation:
Place sliced cucumbers and diced onion into a medium-size bowl. Add Celtic sea salt and stir to combine. Set aside.
Place the soaked and drained cashews with water, maple syrup, lemon juice or apple cider vinegar into your high speed blender and blend for about 1½ minutes. If the dressing got a little too warm in the blender, set it aside and let cool down.
By now, the cucumbers should have released some water.
Pour the cashew cream dressing over the salted cucumber/onion mix.
Add freshly ground black pepper with dill to taste, and stir well. Chill covered in the fridge for about 10 – 15 minutes. The flavors need some time to blend. Season to taste and enjoy!
Notes:
- ‘To peel or not to peel?’ – So here’s my take on peeling cucumbers: I do peel them for this specific salad. In general and when they are organic it’s not really necessary. Some people just have a hard time digesting the peels. I only use organic cucumbers and give the peels to my dogs. They love it!
- I used regular garden cucumbers, but you can use English cucumbers as well.
