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AI-generated photograph: A loose tangle of pale green cucumber, orange carrot ribbons and pink onion in a shallow blue glazed dish, bright coriander leaves and fine red chilli strips on top

Home · Recipes · Caribbean pickled cucumber salad

Caribbean · Sides

Caribbean pickled cucumber salad

pickled cucumber · carrot ribbons · lime and chilli

AI-generated photograph

Thin ribbons of cucumber, carrot and red onion in a sharp lime and vinegar pickle with a whisper of scotch bonnet. Cool, crunchy and bright beside anything rich or spicy.

Contains: none of the 14 allergens, as written. None of the 14 allergens is in this recipe as written. Use distilled white (spirit) vinegar: wine and cider vinegars can contain sulphites, so check the label if you swap.

Ingredients

  • 2 cucumbers
  • 1 small red onion, very thinly sliced
  • 1 carrot, peeled
  • Half a scotch bonnet chilli, seeds scraped out, sliced into thin strips
  • Juice of 2 limes
  • 60ml distilled white vinegar (also sold as spirit vinegar)
  • 1 tablespoon caster sugar
  • Half a teaspoon salt
  • 15g fresh coriander, leaves picked

Plan a week with Caribbean dishes

Let's cook

  1. Cut the cucumbers in half along their length and scoop out the watery seeds with a teaspoon. Slice them thinly into half moons.
  2. Put the sliced red onion in a bowl. Use a vegetable peeler to shave the carrot into long thin ribbons and add them to the bowl with the cucumber and the scotch bonnet. Wash your hands after touching the chilli.
  3. In a jug, stir the lime juice, vinegar, sugar and salt together until the sugar and salt dissolve.
  4. Pour the pickle over the vegetables and toss well.
  5. Cover and put in the fridge for at least 20 minutes, tossing once, so the onion softens and the vegetables take on the flavour.
  6. Just before serving, toss in the coriander leaves. Lift the salad out of the liquid with a slotted spoon onto the plate.

Tips

  • Scooping out the cucumber seeds stops the salad going watery.
  • Slice everything as thinly as you can: thin pieces pickle quickly and look elegant on the plate.

Swaps

  • No heat: leave out the scotch bonnet and add a little black pepper.
  • Shado beni (culantro), used in Trinidad, can replace the coriander if you can find it.

More in the Caribbean meal plan

Our own recipe. The photograph is AI-generated.

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The Caribbean meal plan