Nothing more refreshing than cucumbers I think. It is also the most favorite vegetable for many children. They do not see cucumber as being a vegetable, often they eat it as a snack. Whenever I serve my kids a meal I feel slightly guilty about (fries, pizza, that kind of stuff) I always serve cherry tomatoes and mini cucumbers with it to ease my conscience that they are not eating a proper meal! (Yes, that actually still happens to me too😃)

There is some confusion however about the cucumber’s nutritional value, many people think it contains nothing more than a skin and a bunch of “watery” substance. Nothing is less true! Cucumber’s are rich in vitamines C, B en K and potassium, which help to preserve blood pressure, muscles and our nerve system.

So it makes perfect sense to feed your children cucumber. But their is so much more you can do with cucumber. This stunning salad for instance. It is light, easy to prepare, spicy and incredibly healthy, not in the least because of the cucumber and the fresh ginger.

I prefer the small ones over the large cucumber’s, which I think are a Dutch thing, I have never seen them anywhere else. Of course you can use those as well, but I used five small cucumber’s. Cut them in half length wise and chopped them in half moons. Then I took five mini sweet peppers and sliced them in small strips. Chopped up a red onion and mixed the three in a bowl. I added torn fresh basil leaves (three sprigs) and than poured over a dressing of fresh grated ginger, chili flakes (both too own taste) sherry vinegar (you can also use rice vinegar, apple cider vinegar, balsamic vinegar), two teaspoons of palm sugar, olive oil and some salt and black pepper. Mix the dressing in a separate bowl and taste whether it is spicy enough, before you pour it over the vegetables.

This salad combines great with rice, roasted potatoes, fries, quinoa, basically anything you like!