Tag: side dish

Vietnamese Cucumber Salad

Glass bowl with cucumber salad, including peanuts, cilantro, and jalapeños.

Let me be the 12 millionth person to recommend Salt Fat Acid Heat, both on Netflix and in book form. This is Samin Nosrat’s Vietnamese-style cucumber salad. I served it with pan-seared chicken thighs and rice, and it was the interest in an otherwise unremarkable meal. The extra dressing from the salad made a nice sauce for the chicken.

2lbs (about 8) Persian or Japanese cucumbers
1 large jalapeño, seeds removed if desired, thinly sliced
3 scallions, finely sliced
1 garlic clove, crushed
0.5c coarsely chopped cilantro
16 large mint leaves, coarsely chopped
0.5c toasted peanuts, coarsely chopped
0.25c neutral-tasting oil
4-5T lime juice
4t rice wine vinegar
1T fish sauce
1t sugar
pinch of salt

Using either a mandolin or a sharp knife, thinly slice cucumbers, discarding the ends. In a large bowl, combine cucumbers, jalapeño, scallions, garlic, cilantro, mint, and peanuts. In a small bowl, mix remaining ingredients and stir until salt & sugar are dissolved. Pour the dressing over the vegetables and mix. Taste and adjust with more salt or lime juice. Serve immediately.

Roasted potatoes & asparagus

Roasted asparagus and potatoes alongside some chicken with a dijon mustard cream sauce that my husband made. Delicious!

I bought a bunch of asparagus at the farmers market a couple of weeks ago. I like asparagus more than anyone else in the house does, so I usually end up eating most of it. But just pan-roasting it (my quick-and-easy go-to) can get old. So sometimes I roast it along with potatoes. They combine well together, and it’s a low-effort side dish you can let cook while preparing something else more complicated.

Roasted Potatoes & Asparagus for 1-2 people

4oz of small waxy potatoes, quartered or otherwise cut into 1″ dice
3-4 asparagus stalks, cut into 1.5″ long pieces
olive oil
salt
1-2 cloves sliced garlic (optional)

Heat oven to 425F. Mix potatoes, 1T olive oil, and a generous pinch of salt in a bowl to coat potatoes with oil in a small bowl. Spread onto small cookie sheet. Cover with aluminum foil. Put in oven, roast for 20 minutes.

While potatoes are roasting, put asparagus pieces into same bowl (add a bit more olive oil if needed) to coat them with olive oil. Remove potatoes from oven, remove aluminum foil, add asparagus, mixing the potatoes & asparagus together with a spatula. Roast for 15 minutes.

Remove from oven, mix, add garlic slices if using. Roast for 5 more minutes. Serve warm and enjoy!