Cucumber Salad with Smashed Garlic & Ginger

Ingredients
1 small red onion, very thinly sliced
1 1/2 inches fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
1 tsp. sea salt
2 large garlic cloves, peeled
4 small or 8 mini cucumbers (1 1/4 lbs.), peeled
1 tbsp. toasted sesame seeds
3 tbsp. cilantro, chopped

For the dressing: 
3 tbsp. rice wine vinegar
2 tsp. sugar
2 tbsp. sunflower oil
2 tsp. toasted sesame oil

Directions
To make the dressing, whisk together all the dressing ingredients in a mixing bowl. Add the sliced red onion, mix well and leave aside to marinate for about an hour.

Place the ginger and salt in a mortar and pound well with a pestle. Add the garlic and continue pounding until it is also well crushed and broken into pieces (stop pounding before it disintegrates into a paste). Use a spatula to scrape the contents of the mortar into the bowl with the onion and dressing. Stir together.

Cut the cucumbers lengthways in half, then cut each half on an angle into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Add the cucumber to the bowl, followed by the sesame seeds and cilantro. Stir well and leave to sit for 10 minutes.

Before serving, stir the salad again, tip out some of the liquid that has accumulated at the bottom of the bowl and adjust the seasoning.

Serves 4 to 6 as a condiment or side dish.