The author notes that these salads are best made with feggous or "Armenian yard-long cucumbers". They are long and skinny, slightly curved, with thin wrinkled or furrowed skin, and very small seeds. She says that if you can get these cucumberes, they need not be peeled or seeded.

I didn't have any Armenian yard-long cucumbers. I just used one good-sized English cucumber. But I left its skin on and seeds in anyway. I prefer the aestherics of the dark green skin in the salad. And I prefer the lack of labour and waste of leaving the seeds in. Besides, I find that most English cucumbers seem to have fairly small seeds anyway.¹

This is a very simple salad. Quick and easy to make. The hardest part is wringing out the cucumber so that you don't end up with cucumber soup! I tried doing it with paper towels as suggested in the recipe this time. But I think I might want to experiment with using a fine mesh seive next time. Or maybe even my nut milk bag. I'll see what works best.

Grated Cucumber Salad with Orange Flower Water

Slightly adapted from The Food of Morocco by Paula Wolfert

Ingredients

• 450-500g cucumber, grated
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 2 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp. orange flower water
• 1/8 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1/8 tsp. ground cinnamon

Directions

1. Grate the cucumber and then squeeze out the excess moisture. (I'm still experimenting with the best way to do this. Use whatever method you prefer.) Set the cucumber aside.
2. In a serving bowl, combine the sugar, lemon juice, orange flower water, salt. Mix well.
3. Add the cucumber and toss to combine.
4. Cover and chill until ready to serve.
5. Sprinkle with cinnamon just before serving.

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¹ It seems that through either selective breeding or hormonal treatment, a lot of produce has reduced or no seeds these days. I kind of miss the watermelon seeds... Yes, I know you can still get watermelons with seeds, but you have to look for them. They no longer seem to be the default. The seedless watermelons have taken over. ^Back