Cucumber Salad With Watermelon:
What's Coookin'

Aired on Superstation WGN
Saturday, January 29 and March 12, 2005
Show 204

Food adventurer Alex takes us to Walt Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge in Orlando, Florida where you can gaze at gazelles while you dine. Star chef and culinary genius Anette Grecchi Gray, a Swiss native, prepares a super salad at Jiko, Swahili for "cooking place." While listening to the call of the wild, Anette pairs tomatoes, red onions and cucumbers. The cucumbers have been soaked in salt to extract water so they don't dilute the dressing. The salad is marinated in a dressing of olive oil, lemon juice and vanilla extract. Watermelon vinaigrette turns this salad into a culinary marriage made in heaven. For the vinaigrette, watermelon juice is blended with cantaloupe juice, basil and cottage cheese. Fresh arugula adorns the finished masterpiece.

Cucumber, Tomato and Red Onion Salad

Health Benefits:

Cucumber: A native of India and evidence indicates that cucumbers have been cultivated in western Asia for 3,000 years. The popularity of the cucumber over time might seem curious, in light of the fact it doesn't taste like anything in particular. It has virtually no fat, fiber, and sodium and has absolutely no cholesterol. You could eat up to 10 cucumbers without gaining a pound! A cucumber can hold up to 30 times its weight in water. You may feel a sort of slick residue on the outside of cucumbers…that's wax and its used to prevent them from shrinking during the lapsed time from being pickled or eaten.

Tomato: If you suffer from skin disease, a tomato a day may keep the doctor away, as tomatine, tomato's principle alkaloid, concentrated in its branchy leaves and green fruit, heals certain fungous diseases of the skin. When cooked, tomatoes provide the largest absorbable quantity of lycopene which research suggests may have long term health benefits including staging off cancers especially prostate cancer. Lycopene occurs in only a few foods besides tomatoes and since you absorb more lycopene when you eat a little fat with your tomato some olive oil or cheese isn't such a bad thing after all. Go for it!

Red Onion: Red Onions contain quercetin, a powerful antioxidant that acts as an anti-cancer agent to block the formation of cancer cells. One and one-half to three and one-half ounces of raw onions eaten regularly contain enough quercetin to offer cancer protection. Healers through the ages have had great respect for the curative powers of the onion and recent studies have validated these old beliefs. Onions contain more than one hundred sulfur-containing compounds. One sulfur compound has been found to prevent the biochemical chain of events that lead to asthma and respiratory ailments. Onions are rich in flavonoids which have been shown to deactivate several potent carcinogens and tumor promoters as well as interfere with the growth of estrogen-sensitive cells involved in breast cancer. Last but not least, an onion a day can raise HDL's (good cholesterol), resulting in lower blood pressure and prevention of blood clots. One-half cup of raw onion has 30 calories; one-half cup of boiled has 45. Onions also contain generous amounts of Vitamin B6, Vitamin B1, and folic acid.

Ingredients:

For the Vanilla Dressing:

½ cup white balsamic vinegar (you may substitute malt or cider vinegar, but do not use brown balsamic)
½ tablespoon vanilla extract
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
Pinch of kosher salt
Pinch of freshly ground pepper

Method of Preparation:

Whisk all the ingredients together, adjust seasoning to taste, and set aside.

For the Melon Vinaigrette:

¼ cup cantaloupe juice
6 tablespoons watermelon juice
Pinch of kosher salt
Pinch of freshly ground pepper
¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup cottage cheese
½ tablespoon finely sliced basil leaves

Method of Preparation:

Juice the cantaloupe and watermelon (cut into small pieces and squeeze by hand or use an old-fashioned glass or metal orange juicer) and measure amounts needed. Mix in salt and pepper, then lemon juice. Whisk in olive oil and adjust seasoning. Set aside. When ready to serve, mix in cottage cheese and basil.

For the Salad:

1 English cucumber
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ red onion, sliced very thin
2 tomatoes, cubed
Salt to taste
Freshly ground pepper to taste
¼ pound arugula

Method of Preparation:

Cut cucumber in half, seed, slice fine, and place in a stainless-steel bowl. Add salt, mix well, and let sit for a half hour at room temperature. Drain water from cucumber and mix with onions and tomatoes. Add ¼ cup of vanilla dressing (reserve the rest) and season with salt and pepper to taste. In the center of a large plate, mound the tomato, cucumber, and red onions and drizzle 2 tablespoons of melon vinaigrette around them. Top with the arugula tossed with 2 tablespoons of vanilla dressing.

Cooks' notes:

Both dressings can be made the day before and kept refrigerated.  Never refrigerate tomatoes—they are more flavorful at room temperature.