Cucumber & Mushroom Ceviche Salad
Sometimes I have a craving for sour and tangy foods (or drinks) that only large quantities of lemons or limes can satisfy. This salad was created as a result of one of these cravings. Honestly, I wish it were tangier. But alas, I do not possess the magic required to compel vegetables not to release water and dilute the dressing. For me, this salad is reminiscent of ceviche, though obviously a far cry from anything authentic. The nori adds more nutrition (the iodine) than it imparts any real fishiness to the dish. A vegan fish sauce could be added, but this might make it overly salty for some. The tofu adds protein, but can be omitted for those who don't enjoy the taste and/or texture of raw tofu.
Yield: 4 salads
Macros (per salad with tofu): 335 calories | 19g protein | 22g fat | 10g net carbs
Macros (per salad without tofu): 287 calories | 12g protein | 20g fat | 10g net carbs
Prep: 35 minutes
Storage: refrigerated for up to 24 hours. Flavors will develop over time, but it will also become more watery. You may wish to not add the avocado and pumpkin seeds until ready to eat, to avoid browning and to maintain crunch.
Macros (per salad with tofu): 335 calories | 19g protein | 22g fat | 10g net carbs
Macros (per salad without tofu): 287 calories | 12g protein | 20g fat | 10g net carbs
Prep: 35 minutes
Storage: refrigerated for up to 24 hours. Flavors will develop over time, but it will also become more watery. You may wish to not add the avocado and pumpkin seeds until ready to eat, to avoid browning and to maintain crunch.
Ingredients:
- ⅓ cup (53g) pumpkin seeds, toasted ✎
- 2 medium (600g) English cucumbers or equivalent weight in Persian cucumbers (6-10 cucumbers)
- 2 teaspoons salt ✎
- 1 cup (140g) frozen shelled edamame, thawed
- ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons (90ml) lime or lemon juice (about 3 medium limes or 2 medium lemons)
- 2 tablespoons (30ml) light olive oil or neutral-flavored oil of choice
- 1 tablespoon (13g) granulated allulose or equivalent in sweetener of choice (optional)
- 1 clove (3g) garlic, crushed (equals ½ teaspoon)
- 1 teaspoon chopped fresh dill or ¼ teaspoon dry dill
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- a 14-ounce (400g) can of sliced mushrooms, drained (about 230g) ✎
- ½ cup (58g) thinly sliced radishes (about 8 medium radishes)
- 1 medium (25g) deseeded jalapeño pepper or ¼ medium (30g) green bell pepper, thinly sliced
- ¼ medium (28g) red onion, thinly sliced
- 1 medium (136g) avocado, sliced or chopped
- 1 sheet nori, cut small (I use sissors for this) (optional)
- a 12.3-ounce (349g) package of extra-firm silken tofu, thickly sliced and cut into chunks (optional) ✎
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C), spread the pumpkin seeds out in a single layer on a baking sheet/pan, and toast for 5 to 7 minutes. Monitor carefully to prevent burning. Cool once toasted.
- Meanwhile, thinly slice the cucumber. I'm using a mandoline for this. Place the cucumber in a medium-sized mixing bowl, sprinkle with some of the salt, toss, add more salt, and repeat until all salt is used. Set aside for water to leach out of the cucumber.
- Put the frozen edamame in a small bowl with warm water to thaw. Replace water occasionally if necessary to thaw.
- Combine the lime juice, oil, allulose, garlic, dill, and black pepper in a medium-sized mixing bowl or large salad bowl.
- Drain the mushrooms and add them to the dressing mixture.
- Prepare the remaining vegetables, avocado, and nori. I'm using a mandoline to slice the radishes, jalapeño pepper, and onion. If using a mandonline, the jalapeño can be sliced without deseeding. Most seeds will fall out while slicing and others can be picked off easily. Or, if you like spicy food, the seeds can be included in the salad.
- Prepare the tofu (if using) and place equal amounts in 4 dinner bowls, about 3 ounces (87g) per bowl.
- Drain the liquid off the cucumber and rinse it well to remove some of the salt. Place the cucumber in a single-ish layer on a clean dry kitchen towel. Top with another towel and pat/press dry.
- Drain the edamame and add this, the pumpkin seeds, the cucumber, and all other prepared items to the bowl with the mushrooms/dressing. Mix throughly to distribute all ingredients throughout. Optionally, set the avocado aside to place atop the salad as per the picture.
- Divide the salad equally between the 4 dinner bowls, atop the tofu.
- Enjoy soon after preparing. Optionally, sprinkle with kelp granules or a seasoning blend meant to season fish.
Soy-Free (Carb-Booster): omit the tofu and replace the edamame with either a cup of drained and rinsed canned chickpeas (about two thirds of a 15-ounce [425g] can) or a drained 7-ounce (200g) can of sugar-free green peas (about 140g). ✎
Macros (per serving with chickpeas): 300 calories | 11g protein | 19g fat | 16g net carbs
Macros (per serving with peas): 270 calories | 10g protein | 19g fat | 12g net carbs
Macros (per serving with chickpeas): 300 calories | 11g protein | 19g fat | 16g net carbs
Macros (per serving with peas): 270 calories | 10g protein | 19g fat | 12g net carbs
✎ Notes:
- Toasting pumpkin seeds is optional, but I highly recommend the crunch and depth of flavor toasting brings. They can also be bought toasted in some supermarkets or online.
- Yes, this is a lot of salt. Much of it will be washed away.
- I wouldn't usually use canned mushrooms for much of anything because they have neither the taste nor texture of mushrooms in my opinion. However, that is exactly why I'm using them here.
- This is exactly one package of Mori-Nu extra-firm silken tofu, which has 0g net carbs. You may find other silken tofus to be much higher in net carbs.
- If using the green pea option to make this salad soy-free, be sure to check your labels when buying canned peas. It is very common for sugar to be added.
- Macros for this recipes are calculated with American national nutritional data (i.e. NCCDB & USDA entries in Cronometer) for all ingredients apart from the pumpkin seeds (Bob's Redmill), allulose (Health Garden), and tofu (Mori-Nu) .
- Macro numbers are rounded. Numbers equal to or greater than 10g are rounded to the nearest whole number (e.g. 10g, 11g, 12g, etc.) and numbers below 10g are rounded to the nearest 0.5g (0.5g, 1g, 1.5g ... 9g, 9.5g). Any numbers below 0.5g are given as is (e.g. 0.1g, 0.2g, etc.). Calories are rounded to the nearest multiple of 5.