Laurie Colwin once said, “[chicken] salad is like the little black dress, it is chic and adaptable and can be taken anywhere. You can dress it down and feed it to a child, or dress it up and serve it at a dinner party. You can accessorize it in an interesting way and astonish your friends at lunch.” When you start looking at salads that way, you’ll never find them boring or bland. And if you want an excellent salad that is both easy and bold, may I introduce you this wonderful smacked cucumber salad with radishes.

This is a very basic recipe that you can dress up and adorn however you see fit. The dressing can benefit from additions such as honey or maple syrup, or perhaps a dollop of dijon mustard. You can use whatever fresh herbs you have and as many types as you want. This primitive version is bright and zesty as is, and you only really need a handful of ingredients. 

A marvelous technique

Smashed cucumbers are truly a marvel. They reject any idea of uniform chopping so it cuts down time and effort. And they’re so crunchy! I adore making salads where I spend precious time slicing the cucumbers into fine slices, but I truly love the rustic look and texture of this technique. I’d recommend using red onion for this, but I only had yellow and it’s a perfectly fine substitute.