Spicy Chicken and Cucumber Salad

A friend brought us the most wonderful cucumbers out of her garden and in return only asked that I let her know of ways to put her bounty to use.  Besides the usual suspects - cucumber soup, cucumber salad, and raita, here is one my favorite salads that highlights the refreshing nature of cucumbers.  This is from my days at Le Cordon Bleu and I sadly forget to make it often enough.

Spicy Chicken and Cucumber Salad

Ingredients

• 1.5 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon yellow mustard (e.g., Coleman's)
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon curry powder
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium zucchini (~8 ounces)
• 1 medium cucumber
• 1 red pepper
• 8 ounces snow peas, blanched

Preparation

Slice chicken thinly.  Mix all the spices together and mix with the chicken.  Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Cut the zucchini in half lengthwise and then into 1/4" slices crosswise. Heat the oil in a sauté pan and lightly sauté the zucchini until slightly softened, about 2-3 minutes.  Remove to a large bowl to cool.  Add a little more oil to the pan if necessary and sauté chicken over medium heat in small batches, 5-7 minutes per batch or until cooked.  Cool.

Cut the cucumber into sticks and toss with the zucchini.  Julienne the red pepper and add it and the snow peas to the cucumber and zucchini.  Add the cooked and cooled chicken and toss lightly.  Serve or refrigerate until ready to serve.  I prefer to make this 1-2 hours ahead so that the spice on the chicken has time to flavor the vegetables.

Note:  This can be made with turkey breasts instead of chicken breasts for a nice variety. Also, you can cut back the sugar to a 1/2 teaspoon, but you need a little to bring out the rest of the flavors.  The original recipe had 2 teaspoons, but I think that is a little too much.

Horseradish and Mustard Roasted Potatoes

We are big fans of roasted root vegetables, as you've probably already ascertained. At the top of the list are usually potatoes. We have a distinct fondness for roasted potato recipes - this one is second only to rosemary roasted potatoes.  It originally came from Bon Appetit and you can still find it on the epicurious website.  Now, if you're thinking that horseradish is way too potent and you wouldn't like this dish, you will be in for a big surprise. Roasting horseradish takes away that pungent, eye-watering flavor.  It becomes mild and all the heat goes out of it.  Fair warning, though, if you buy a horseradish root and are grating it - it will probably be eye watering!  It affects me in the same way onions do, but it is so worth it that I don't mind shedding a few tears.


Horseradish and Mustard Roasted Potatoes

Ingredients

• 3 pounds red potatoes, cut into 3/4" cubes (you can leave the skin on)
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1/2 cup coarse-grain mustard (you want one where the mustard seeds are  almost whole)
• 1/4 cup butter
• 2/3 cup grated fresh horseradish

If you can't get fresh horseradish, you could substitute the bottled stuff, but it won't be nearly as good.  If you are using the bottled stuff make sure you get the bottle that only contains horseradish, sometimes called "extra-strong".  Do not get the "creamed" verison whatever you do.  Fresh horseradish root has to be peeled before grating.  I grate it on a medium-sized cheese grater with a few gratings from the large-sized portion of the cheese grater for variety.

If you like sweet potatoes - substitute 1/2 or 1/3 of the red potatoes with sweet potatoes.  You will love it.

Preparation

Choose small potatoes or cut larger ones into 3/4" dice.  Toss potatoes with oil, season with salt and pepper, and roast at 400 degrees for 30 minutes. If you prefer your potatoes crisp - make sure you have plenty of room in the roasting pan.  If they are all piled on top of each other they will not crisp well. I use a heavy-gauge baking sheet (known as a half-sheet pan in the industry - you can get these at any restaurant supply store). If you were only making half the recipe they will fit into a 13x9 baking dish.

Combine horseradish, mustard, and butter.  Take potatoes out after 1/2 hour and pour half the horseradish mixture over.  Stir and roast for 15 minutes.  Pour the rest of horseradish mixture over potatoes, stir and roast 15 minutes more (or more if you like crispier potatoes).  Serve immediately and try not to eat the entire dish.  It's supposed to serve 8, but in our house it probably only serves 4.