Vegan Sweet and Spicy Spiralized Cucumber Salad with Arugula and Cherry Tomatoes

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2015

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OK – kiddies!  Product review time!  My first ever!!   My Spiral Slicer was gifted to me for the purpose of review & I won the tabletop one in a contest.  So – they were both free for me.    The Paderno one with the cookbook (below) retails for about $50.

My Spiral Slicer (above) retails for about $14.

I decided to try this Sweet & Spicy Spiralized Cucumber Salad to experiment with both devices.

I tried the table-top one first – because I was very excited about it.  It comes with different blades to achieve different stylized veggie results.  I am embarrassed to report that I could not get this to work at all.  I felt too inept & stupid & I was making the salad for a Memorial Day BBQ & I was in a hurry & frustrated and, I must confess, perhaps did not give this beauty the proper patience.  But – the instability of the item kept giving me visions of my fingers being spiralized & I could never seem to get the cucumber to line up right with the blade. Exasperated – I moved on to the hand-held gadget.

My results with this bad boy were immediate & satisfying.  I just stuck the cucumber in there & twisted & cucumber noodles just kept pouring out.   Clearly, this model does not have the versatility of the tabletop jobby – and it requires phallic-shaped veggies to twist into the vortex but – if zucchini or cucumber or carrot noodles are you primary aspirations – I say go with this guy.   The price alone assures that you won’t overspend on a trendy device that just takes up room in your cabinets – because it also has the added advantage of its tiny, easy-to-store size.

I will return to the tabletop one on a day I am under less pressure & give it a more fair shot – and report back.  Never fear!

The salad itself was a huge success.  It is pretty & light & was a huge hit with my guest who loathes all things creamy – including dressings.  “Now THIS is a salad!” he declared upon tasting it.  It really is a yummy salad with the benefit of both a sweet flavor & a tiny bite of spice.  And I am always a fan of ways to use arugula.

Vegan Sweet and Spicy Spiralized Cucumber Salad with Arugula & Cherry Tomatoes

serve 4

INGREDIENTS

A spiralizer

4 large English (hothouse) cucumbers (less seedy)

1/2 cup cherry tomatoes – halved (I used heirloom)

2 large handfuls arugula

2 TBS Champagne vinegar or red wine vinegar

4 TBS olive oil

1 tsp (or more) crushed red pepper

1 TBS honey or agave nectar

1 orange – juiced

1/2 tsp garlic powder

S&P to taste

Directions:

1. Place a cucumber into the spiralizer, and follow the directions listed on the package until you have cucumber noodles. Repeat with the remaining cucumbers.
2. To a large bowl, add all the cucumber noodles along with the tomatoes and arugula.
3. In a separate bowl, combine the remaining ingredients to make the dressing.
4. Using a wire whisk, mix the dressing until all the ingredients are incorporated, and pour over the top of the cucumber noodles.
5. Toss the cucumber noodles very well, making sure they are all coated with the dressing.
6. Transfer to a serving plate, and serve immediately.