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.