Cucumber salad with ginger sesame dressing

This salad started off as one of those leftover dishes and turned into something a little bit special.

This is an ideal salad to make in the evening and take to work the next day as the flavours develop even more after a night in the fridge.Take the crispy fried shallots in a separate tub to sprinkle on just before serving or they will go soggy.

Cucumber salad with ginger sesame dressing

150g shelled edamame beans

1 large organic cucumber

1/2 tsp salt

5 spring onions, sliced on the diagonal

1 carrot, peeled and coarsely grated

1/2 each red and yellow pepper, de-seeded and diced

2 sticks celery, very finely sliced

100g piece mooli (white radish), diced

For the dressing:

1 tbsp avocado oil

1 tbsp light soy sauce

1 tbsp black rice vinegar

1 tbsp sesame oil

100g piece ginger, minced

1 garlic clove, minced

Zest and juice of 1 lime

1 tsp palm sugar

1 tbsp chopped fresh coriander

1 heaped tsp chopped fresh mint

To garnish:

Breakfast radishes, finely sliced

Black sesame seeds

Crispy fried shallots (can be bought in a tub in most Asian supermarkets)

Bring a large pan of water to the boil, add the soya beans and cook for 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the beans into a bowl of ice water, this will stop the cooking and ensure they keep their vibrant green colour. To make the dressing, whisk all the ingredients in a bowl until the palm sugar has completely dissolved. Taste and adjust the seasoning or sweetness if necessary. Cover and refrigerate until needed.

To make the salad, quarter the cucumber lengthways, scrape out the seeds and either discard or save to add to a soup or smoothie. Slice into half centimetre pieces and put into a colander.

Sprinkle with the salt and mix roughly with your hand, leave over a large bowl to drain for 10 minutes. After this time, pour away the drained water and wash the bowl. Blot the cucumber with a kitchen towel and add to the same bowl along with the edamame beans, spring onions, carrot, peppers, celery and diced mooli.

Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to combine. Divide between two plates and garnish with thinly sliced radishes, black sesame seeds and a few crispy fried shallots.

The Independent