Sesame-Ginger Carrot and Sweet Pepper Salad with English Cucumbers

So, it's been just shy of forever since I last posted a recipe on here. I had a few free minutes today, it was on my mind, and my good friend Bill had just asked me to write this recipe down for him. I figured as long as I had it on screen, I might as well post it here.

In fact, creating this salad took almost as much effort as it took to remember what I did and write down the recipe. It's a wonderful, tasty salad that is great served chilled, by itself, in a separate bowl. If you have an absolutely pathological aversion to spiciness on even the most minute scale, then you can skip the Thai chili sauce, but I wouldn't recommend it. It adds a great flavor, and the slight spiciness goes particularly well with this crisp, fresh salad. In fact, if you can find a Chinese Szechuan-style pepper blend, a few shakes are great in this.

Let me know what you all think.

INGREDIENTS:
2 each Red, Orange, and Yellow Sweet Peppers
1 large English Cucumber
4 Carrots, peeled and julienned
1 T White (or Toasted) Sesame Seeds
1 T Black Sesame Seeds
Salt and Pepper to taste
Garlic Salt
Dash Chinese Five Spice Powder
¼ cup Sesame Salad Dressing
¼ cup Ginger Mandarin Salad Dressing
¼ cup Rice Vinegar
2 T Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 t Thai Chili Sauce

PREPARATION:
1. Clean the Sweet Peppers and cut into ½ in. squares
Split the English Cucumber down the middle, core it, and then split again lengthwise. Slice into ½ in. thick pieces.

2. Place the Peppers, the Cucumber pieces, and the Carrots into a large bowl, and sprinkle with Sesame Seeds, Salt, Pepper, Garlic Salt, and Chinese Five Spice Powder. Toss until well mixed, and let sit for 5 minutes.

3. Sprinkle on Sesame Salad Dressing, Ginger-Mandarin Salad Dressing, Rice Vinegar, Olive Oil, and Thai Chili Sauce.

4. Mix everything together, and taste. Adjust seasonings and let sit for 10 minutes before serving. Serve chilled.


Note: This salad can be refrigerated and stored overnight so you can serve it the next day. If you’re going to refrigerate it for more than about 12 hours before serving, though, mix all of the solid ingredients, but wait to add the oil, dressings, vinegar, and chili sauce. Once those get added, the cucumbers will not last for long before becoming too soft.