Spicy Cucumber Salad

I love cucumber salads. This water-rich vegetable makes a great guilt-free snack because of its crunch. It’s also a refreshing side. Much of a cucumber’s nutrition is in its skin, so I leave it on here.

prep time: 2 hours 10 minutes | Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

• 6 Persian cucumbers, cut into ½-inch half-moon slices

• Salt

• ¼ cup Salsa Macha (see below)

  The Power Five: Essential Foods for Optimum Health Michael Crupain

• 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar (or other acid)

• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro, mint, or basil 

DIRECTIONS

Season the cucumbers with salt in a bowl, and let stand for 1 hour. Drain off water, and then mix in the Salsa Macha and vinegar. Let stand at room temperature for at least 1 hour. Stir in the herbs. Serve immediately, or refrigerate overnight to marinate further.

Salsa Macha

prep time: 30 minutes cook time: 10 minutes

Makes about 2 cups

Sometimes called a dry salsa, this condiment originates in the Veracruz region of Mexico. This version is loaded with some of the most undereaten ingredients (nuts and seeds). It’s chock-full of protein, healthy fat, and zinc, a harder-to-get mineral important both for immunity and regulating sex hormones (like testosterone). I like it spicy; adjust the heat by using only one type of chile or adding more nuts and seeds. Try it on anything from green beans and chicken to soup and stews.

INGREDIENTS

• ¼ cup raw cashews

• ¼ cup raw pecans

• ¼ cup raw walnuts

• ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided

• 1 dried chipotle chile pepper

• 5 cloves garlic, minced

• ¼ teaspoon Cobanero chile flakes

• ¼ cup pumpkin seeds

• ¼ cup sunflower kernels

• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds

• ¼ cup roasted unsalted peanuts

• Salt

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350. Roast the cashews, pecans, and walnuts in a single layer on a baking sheet for 8 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool. 

2. Heat . cup oil in a small saut. pan, and cook the chile pepper over medium-low heat for 1 minute on each side. It will become fragrant. Remove from the pan and cool.

3. Add the garlic to the hot oil, and cook gently until just browning (you may need to reduce the heat). Stir in the chile flakes until blended, then stir in the pumpkin seeds, sunflower kernels, and sesame seeds. Cook for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and cool.

4. Process the cooled chile pepper in a food processor until broken into very small pieces. Add all the toasted nuts, the peanuts, and the seed-garlic mixture. Season with salt to taste. Pulse several times until the nuts are broken into smaller pieces, but not so many times that it becomes a fine mince or a paste—you want it to have a good texture.

5. Transfer the mixture to an airtight container, and stir in the remaining . cup oil (add more if you need it). Serve immediately, or cover and chill up to 10 days. If you refrigerate it, let it stand at room temperature to let oil return to a liquid state before serving.

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Recipe Excerpted with permission from The Power Five: Essential Foods for Optimum Health by Michael Crupain. Copyright © 2023 by National Geographic / Michael Crupain, photographs by National Geographic: Scott Suchman

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