The Salads of Casa de Cuisine: Ribboned Cucumber Salad

You ever go into a restaurant and order a salad? After a wait of a few minutes, the waiter/waitress comes to your table with some cut-up iceberg lettuce, a tomato that died yesterday and a few condiments from a jar. Off to the side is some fake olive oil and a something they have the nerve to call a vinegar, or if you're really lucky, some creamed gunk dressing from a large plastic bottle sitting on the floor of the kitchen. Yeah, this is appealing!

The fact of the matter is, salad is an art-form. It isn't some crappy day-old produce thrown on a plate and served to you at an ungodly price. A true Chef, a real Chef, deals with a salad with just as much love and pride as he does with that $175.00 entree you've been over-charged for. Salads should always be prepared with the freshest ingredients and should be constructed not just for the palate but for the eye as well.

Ribboned Cucumber Salad with Proscuitto is an original dish served at my restaurants. The dressing for this salad is a Southwestern vinaigrette. The combined tastes tease your tongue throughout the dining experience and the vinaigrette was created to bring out the natural tastes of each of the fresh ingredients.

I fully realize you are looking at the term "ribboned cucumber" and thinking "yeah, you're trained to do this but I can't." Well dammit, yes you can! In the slideshow I will take you through the process of ribboning a cucumber. If you can peel a cucumber, you can ribbon one as well.

Sometimes you owe yourself something special, enjoy!

Ingredients needed to make Ribboned Cucumber Salad with Prosciutto (serves 2):

• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 Tbs. balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 tsp. chili powder
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 cucumber, peeled, shaved and ribboned (see slideshow for how to do this)
• 3 ounces prosciutto (Italian cured ham)
• 1 green onion, quartered lengthwise and finely minced
• 1 carrot, finely grated
• 1/4 cup roasted red peppers, julienned (thinly sliced lengthwise)

Steps:

1. In a small bowl whisk together the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, chili powder and garlic powder. Set the bowl aside.
2. Arrange your salad on serving plates for presentation (see pictures in slideshow).
3. Drizzle the dressing over the salad and serve.

Chef's Note: You can buy roasted red peppers packed in olive oil at your local market in the condiment section. Look for a brand which contains no preservatives. The ingredients should be nothing more than peppers and olive oil (sometimes garlic is included).

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