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22 summer salads

Looking for some fresh salad ideas this summer? Stir It Up! has you covered. Whether you're a traditional lettuce and veggies person, or like to experiment with pastas and grains, our salad list is sure to spark inspiration. 

Vietnamese cucumber and melon salad with peanuts

In Praise of Leftovers
A light and cool summer salad with cucumbers, fresh fruit, mint, cilantro, a little chile heat, and crunchy peanuts.

By Sarah Murphy-Kangas, In Praise of Leftovers
Serves 1 famished Household Coordinator or 2 more petite eaters. Eyeball it for a crowd.

1 cup Vietnamese cucumber, thickly sliced

1 cup pineapple, chopped

1 cup cantaloupe, chopped

Cilantro, stems and all, about a handful, sliced

mint leaves, to taste, sliced

celery leaves, to taste, sliced

1/2 red onion, thinly sliced

fresh chile (optional)

1 tablespoon sugar

fish sauce, to taste

salt, to taste

1/2 lime, squeezed

1 tablespoon sesame oil

salted peanuts, to garnish 

1. Gently combine the cucumber, pineapple, and cantaloupe in a medium bowl.

2. Add a good portion of cilantro, mint leaves, celery leaves, thinly sliced red onion, and fresh chile if you wish.

3. Add sugar, a good jigger of fish sauce, salt, juice from half a lime, and sesame oil.

4. Combine gently with your hands, and scatter chopped salted peanuts over the top.  

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Mark Sappenfield
Editor

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