Tahini and Black Sesame Cucumber Salad Recipe

An Original Recipe Brought to You
From the Farmhouse Kitchen at Root & Branch Farms

Ingredients:

• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon onion powder
• ½ teaspoon granulated sugar (I use organic raw cane sugar – I prefer the Florida Crystals brand which is available at most grocery stores)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• ½ cup organic tahini
• 1½ pounds of cucumbers (Japanese slicing cucumbers or Beit Alpha / Persian-style cucumbers are highly recommended for this recipe)
• 2 teaspoons black sesame seeds, plus extra for garnish
• Half of a medium-sized red (purple) onion (a half onion is approximately 2 to 3 ounces in weight)

Instructions:

1. To prepare the dressing, add the garlic powder, onion powder, sugar, salt, lemon juice, and tahini to a medium-sized bowl. Mix thoroughly, and set aside. (A note on the lemon juice: you can use either fresh or bottled lemon juice. If using bottled lemon juice, I highly recommend the Giancarlo Polenghi brand Italian Volcano 100% Sicilian Organic Lemon Juice. This has the best flavor of any bottled lemon juice we’ve tried. It’s also simply pure organic lemon juice. Most brands of lemon juice have questionable additives which we try to avoid.)
2. Rinse the cucumbers and chop off the ends. If using Japanese slicing cucumbers, Beit Alpha / Persian-style cucumbers, or a similar variety with sweet peels, you should leave the peel on. Leaving the peel on not only makes this recipe prep easier, but also preserves the nutrients contained in the peel. Additionally, the peel adds a beautiful and vibrant green color to the salad. Some varieties of cucumbers have an unpleasant tasting peel, so if you are using one of those varieties, you will definitely want to peel the cucumbers. You should have 24 ounces (aka 1½ pounds) of cucumbers once they’re fully prepared (ends chopped off, and peeled if necessary).
3. Carefully mandolin the cucumbers. (If you don’t have a mandolin, slice them as thin as possible.) Add the cucumber slices to the bowl with the tahini dressing.
4. Cut a purple onion in half. Carefully mandolin the half purple onion, and add the slices to the bowl.
5. Add the 2 teaspoons of black sesame seeds to the bowl.
6. Mix thoroughly so that the cucumbers, onions, and black sesame seeds are fully coated with the dressing. The liquid from the cucumbers will naturally thin out the dressing, so that it’s a light and refreshing consistency. Optional: sprinkle extra black sesame seeds on the top of the salad for decorative / visual impact.
7. Serve immediately. Enjoy!

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