This is my own summer salad recipe and I think it is so pretty and really brightens up the table. It tastes so fresh and zesty and is the perfect accompaniment to a barbeque or a summery lunch or dinner.
The secret to the zesty flavour and also to the amazingly bright pink onions is to soak thin slices of red onion in lime juice for an hour or so and you will end up with wonderful tasting onions that add a really fresh touch to the salad.
Like all salads this is best assembled close to when you wish to eat to stop the coriander wilting. The quantities below serve 4 but you can easily add more or less depending on the occasion.
-
1 red onion, finely sliced
-
1 lime
-
3 tomatoes, deseeded and chopped roughly
-
half a cucumber, peeled, center removed and chopped roughly
-
40g of fresh coriander
Soak the red onion slices in the lime juice for approx. 1 hour. Place all of the ingredients in a large bowl and mix gently using your hands. Dress before ready to serve.
To dress the salad I make half the quantity of my basic French dressing using a couple of tablespoons of Mango Chutney instead of the Dijon mustard and honey – it gives a lovely sweet dressing with a mere hint of spice.
I just love the colours in this – especially the pink onions. Perhaps rather aptly, I’m also intrigued by using mango chutney in the salad dressing – I’m definitely going to have to give it a whirl myself sometime! A
Hi Aisling. I am a sucker for bright pinks and lime green so I think this is the main reason I love this salad :) it just looks amazingly summery. I would happily eat the lime-soaked onions on their own though. The mango chutney adds a lovely sweet taste to the dressing and is a great replacement for the mustard and honey.
Yum!
This is very similar to a salad I have been making lately too. Its a thai cucumber salad that is served with rare beef .. divine!
The dressing includes fish sauce, lime juice, brown sugar, garlic .. and there are slices of chillies in with the cucumber, tomatoes, coriander, basil and mint in the sald .. I will send you the recipe if you want its really really good. Goes will with rare beef, tuna steaks or indeed just as a salad at a bbq…
SJ
Hello SJ – that sounds delicious. I love thai salads and rare beef so yum! Would love the recipe if you want to post it in a comment or email me at gluttonyforbeginners@gmail.com. Thank you! x
Red onions in lime juice is a good idea – I tend to marinate mine in balsamic vinegar and olive oil, but it’s time for a change!
Hello :) at first I must admit I was lured by the beautiful colour but it really does make the onions taste delicious. Must give the balsamic a try… sounds fab. Just popped over to your lovely blog! Beautiful pics. Are you on Twitter? x
I made this last night with your French dressing and it was divine!I only had wholegrain mustard for the dressing though but it still worked well!
I often pickle cucumbers in white wine vinegar with a tiny bit of sugar and I thought your onions would be a nice change, I love the shocking pink colour that the onions went after pickling, they were delicious!
Loving your blog and looking forward to making your Bombay potatoes next!
Thanks a mill!
Hi Lynn. Glad you liked it :) Thats the thing about dressing – you can add different things to suit your own taste/cupboards. Mmmmm pickled cucumbers sounds rather tasty. Might have a go at that. Thanks for your lovely comments x