Lemongrass and lime cucumber salad

A simple cucumber salad dressed in vinegar is a common side dish in Sweden. This recipe gives the dish a southeast Asian twist with the addition of lemongrass, lime, and cilantro.

It's a great workout for your mandoline, as the salad is best when the cucumbers are sliced paper thin. If you don't own a mandoline, I strongly suggest investing in one. It doesn't have to be a fancy one that also does crinkle-cuts and juliennes, but it should have an adjustable blade so you can control the thickness of your cuts. It will make your prep work so much easier and give your dishes a professional look. Definitely money well spent!

From The Swedish Table by Helene Henderson

Ingredients:

• 1 cucumber, preferably European seedless, sliced very thin
• 1/4 cup red onion, peeled and sliced thin
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1/2 lime, sliced very thin
• 1 stalk lemongrass, light green center only, sliced thin
• 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon red hot peppers

Directions:

• Place cucumber, onion, cilantro, and lime in a medium-size bowl.
  
• Combine lemongrass in a medium-heavy saucepan with vinegar, sugar, and salt. Cook over low heat for 3 minutes. Let cool, stir in red hot peppers, and pour over cucumbers.
• Marinate for a minimum of 1 hour before serving

Serves 4-6

Note: I didn't have white-wine vinegar, so I used white balsamic vinegar and cut back a little on the sugar. That seemed to work just fine.