Someone on the internet mentioned a Buffalo Cucumber Salad and I was like: WHA?
Frank’s RedHot Sauce (or Frank’s®RedHot® according to their website) is one of the great products of Western Culture. I am very devoted. You can imagine my excitement at the idea of this salad. A quick search taught me that this salad was served at Parm [1] in NYC and that the recipe had actually been published by Lucky Peach [2]. I LOVE THE INTERNET.
In my haste to eat this, I didn’t take any photos. You can imagine what this looks like. Some cucumbers covered in an industrially produced hot sauce sauce. But the flavor…oh, the flavor.
Frank’s RedHot Sauce Vinaigrette
- 3 heads of roasted garlic, squeezed from their skins and mashed into a smooth paste
- 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/4 cup of finely diced shallot
- 1 cup Frank’s RedHot Sauce
Mix it all together.
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To make the salad you also need some salted peanuts that you have chopped coarsely, some crumbled blue cheese and a couple of those seedless cucumbers that are always wrapped in plastic. Peel some strips of skin off of the cucumbers so that they are striped and slice them in half lengthwise and use a spoon to scrape out the seeds. Slice them all into half-moons (1/8-inch thick?) and place them in a bowl. Add some vinaigrette. Enough to coat everything but not make it gloopy. Top with crumbled cheese (1/3 cup?) and peanuts (1/4 cup?) and serve. It’s really good with some roasted or grilled chicken.
Leftover vinaigrette can be used in a variety of ways- roasted vegetables, eggs, chicken, tofu, etc.. Or you can eat it with a spoon.