Smashed Cucumber Salad – Cooking without Chemicals with Tom Hunt, Season 2

by Tom Hunt

This salad is a super tasty way to transform a tired nub of cucumber into a quick and easy lip-smacking salad to enjoy as a refreshing snack or as part of a larger meal. This recipe originates from China but pairs well with many different meals.

Tom Hunt is an award-winning chef, food educator, writer, climate change activist and author of Eating for Pleasure, People & Planet. https://www.tomsfeast.com

This salad is a super tasty way to transform a tired nub of cucumber into a quick and easy lip-smacking salad to enjoy as a refreshing snack or as part of a larger meal.

Ingredients

• 150g cucumber

• Pinch sea salt

• Pinch sugar

• Pinch chilli flakes

• 1 tsp rice vinegar (white wine or cider vinegar)

• 1 clove garlic

• 1 tsp sesame oil or olive oil

• 1 tsp soya sauce

• Sprinkle sesame seeds, to taste, optional

• Sprig coriander, optional

Method

1. Take an end of cucumber (about 150g) and place it on a chopping board. Using a rolling pin or side or a large flat knife, carefully, smack the cucumber until it breaks open and is partially and evenly crushed. Chop into rough shapes and transfer to a colander. Place over a bowl and sprinkle with a generous pinch of sea salt. Toss together and place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to crisp up.

2. Meanwhile, make the dressing by mixing together a pinch of sea salt, sugar and optional red chilli flakes with a teaspoon of rice, white wine or cider vinegar and one smashed clove of garlic. Add a teaspoon of sesame oil or olive oil and soya sauce and mix together.

3. When you are ready to serve, take your cucumbers from the fridge and toss with the dressing. Keep the juice to drink or add to the dressing if it is a small amount. Serve topped with an optional sprinkling of sesame seeds and sprig of coriander.

Cooking without Chemicals with Tom Hunt – the Pulp Fiction Burger

by Tom Hunt

Tom Hunt is an award-winning chef, food educator, writer, climate change activist and author. This recipe was first published in his book Eating for Pleasure, People & Planet. www.tomsfeast.com,

The pulp fiction burger

Root to fruit eating is an holistic approach to food that considers all aspects of its production, its impact on the planet and our health. To eat in this way means basing the bulk of our meals on local-seasonal foods and eating them whole, including the parts we usually throw away, like peelings, root greens and other by-products. Whenever possible my recipes include the whole ingredient but sometimes the usually discarded, odds and ends becomean invaluable ingredient in their own right. Like spent lemon rinds which make the most incredible marmalade or ‘aquafaba’ the liquid leftover from cooking pulses, a practically cost-free egg replacement that makes perfect mayonnaise, pastry or meringues. This recipe calls for leftover juice pulp – plant-fibre that’s a vital macronutrient and huge waste if left unused. It turns out juice pulp is perfect for making a delicious textural veggie burger, especially when it contains lots of delicious, blood red beetroot. If you plan to make a juice, plan to make a burger, it’s a rather tasty bonus.

Makes 2 patties

100g juice pulp (about two small juices worth, preferably containing beetroot) or finely

chopped cooked mushrooms

100g tempeh, shredded, or finely chopped cooked mushrooms

2 tbsp tamari

1 tsp vinegar (cider or other)

1 tsp smoked paprika

1/2 large red onion, grated

1 clove garlic, grated

1 tbsp miso,

2 tbsp vital wheat gluten flour or chickpea flour

25g walnuts

Virgin or light olive oil for frying

Serving suggestion

Bun, winter leaves, onion, pickles, ketchup, mayonnaise (recipe below!)

Preheat the oven to 220C

Mix all the burger ingredients together well and season with pepper. Do not add salt as the tamari and miso are salty. Form into two firm round patties and place them on parchment paper. If you have time place in the fridge for at least thirty minutes or even overnight if you want to make them the day before. Fry the patties gently on the parchment pieces, in a lightly oiled, ovenproof frying pan on a medium low heat. Risk the temptation to move the burger, watch the base and when it starts to brown and form a crust (after about five minutes) carefully flip the burger with a fish slice. Put the burger in the oven for five to ten minutes while you prepare the trimmings. Serve how you like in a bun or lettuce leaf with your favourite sauces.

Whole egg mayonnaise

1 whole egg

Mustard, to taste (we used a heaped tsp of whole grain mustard)

Apple cider vinegar or fresh lemon juice, to taste (about 1-3 tsps)

Extra virgin olive oil

Crack a whole egg into a large bowl. Add the mustard, vinegar or lemon and a pinch of sea salt and black pepper. Slowly drizzle in the oil while whisking continuously until the mayonnaise thickens. This will take 3-5 minutes.