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Cooking Notes
Sue Llewellyn
Pretty "smashing" in every way (even as we mutter, "Take THAT, you so-called Persian cukes!"). Really, though, using a blender or mini-food processor is overkill for the small amount of dressing involved--brisk whisking achieves same result.
john
If you have a bag of ice on top of the draining cucumbers why would you need to put it in the refrigerator?
Kathy Valin
I served this alongside some room temperature wild rice, on a bed of parsley ringed with daikon medallions. A great success!
Nora Morgenstern
After several mishaps, I have replace "the flat blade of a knife" with a rolling pin. Very effective for smashing and much safer, as we keep our knives quite sharp!
SW
This was a bit bland for me. The tahini sauce was lacking. The chili vinegar was great though. I ended up dousing it with a ton of the latter. Maybe next time I'll try amping up the tahini sauce with more lemon and garlic.
zakai
Made this recipe, but replaced the seasoning with mala spice blend. Super tasty!
CaTo
I agree - this hits the spot. Turns out the dressing is also,pretty great on pasta, when whisked with an equal part pasta water. Yum!
Jennie
For a cucumber salad, this is extremely hearty and caloric (5 Weight Watchers points/svg)--obviously, because of the tahini. I love cucumbers and I love tahini dressings, and this salad is nice, but not the mind-blower I had expected given my love for the components. Plus a lot of work. I sound very disgruntled, and I wasn't, it was nice, it was fine, it was pleasant and made enough for a couple of days' eating.
Jody
Interesting how the instructions describe dressing the cucumbers in the bowl and tossing before plating, but the accompanying photo clearly shows that the tahini dressing was poured atop a plated pile of cukes. I think that looks much nicer. I used sriracha for the vinegar and it was terrific. I also think a little black sesame seeds sprinkled over the top would add some nice visual punch.
Debbie
That tahini dressing is wonderful, even if I was assembling it without my glasses, and accidentally added 1/4 tsp turmeric instead of cumin — a mistake caught just a nano-second too late. (‘Why is this cumin bright yellow?”) No matter, I added the cumin, and processed until it was the consistency of heavy whipped cream. (I think that accidental 1/4 tsp turmeric might be a useful addition to the recipe!) Can't wait until the cucumbers are ready to be dressed!
Zz
this was so good I licked the bowl clean ! Made as written. MMMMM
Elaine
I accidentally made 3 times the amount of sauce, and it was a happy accident. The extra tahini sauce goes really well with anything spicy, like a peppered chicken. I still have some extra I'm reserving for roasted vegetables. For the smashed cukes, I added harissa sauce for spice which worked great. I also used fresh oregano (yum!). Skipped bag of ice and just used a bowl full of water to weigh down cukes and remove excess water.
Elisabeth
Hmm, I didn't have oregano, omitting this may have caused it to be not quite flavorful enough. Also, I don't like very spicy/hot so I didn't add a lot of sambal to mine
NMR Smith
I like this recipe. The flavors are nice together and separately, and this cumin-spiked tahini turns out to be an excellent sauce in its own right. (Try it on roasted beets!)
I'm not sure that smashing the cucumbers is really worth all the work unless you're planning for leftovers. If the salad will be eaten soon then the standard slicing and seeding seems quicker for me. Smashing definitely produces a less-watery result for a salad to be held overnight.
David Bali
For smashing I use a small cast iron skillet. Put the cukes in a plastic bag on a cutting board and hammer. Quick and effective and you don't even have to wash the skillet after! Tried all the recipes and now do my own versions and new ones. The concept is the key
KatrinaG
My cucumbers didn't smash too well (they were still pretty intact after using the knife blade). I used English hothouse cukes. But very delicious.
Linda
We found this to be our least favorite of the three "smashed cucumber" recipes in the article as the flavors are not so pronounced.
As in all three, the dressing makes enough for double the amount of cucumbers.
I "smash" the cucumber with the heel of my hand, and for the regular cucumbers, I do remove about half of the skin as it can be a bit too chewy.
Nora Morgenstern
After several mishaps, I have replace "the flat blade of a knife" with a rolling pin. Very effective for smashing and much safer, as we keep our knives quite sharp!
Kathy Valin
I served this alongside some room temperature wild rice, on a bed of parsley ringed with daikon medallions. A great success!
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