Charred Cucumber Salad with Roasted Carrots, Pepitas, Herbed Feta, & Turmeric Crema

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Prep Time:  20 mins    Cook Time:  10 mins    Serves:  2

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While charring in a hot pan may not be the first treatment that comes to mind for cucumber, I promise you will be happy with the results.  Cucumbers are in the squash family, so cooking them this way really isn’t too far outside the norm.  Due to their especially high water content, cucumbers must be seared in a screaming hot pan or they will steam instead of char.  Cut the cucumber in half vertically and salt the exposed flesh before cooking to draw out excess water and pat dry before adding to the pan.  

Ingredients:

• 1 persian hothouse cucumber; halved lengthwise

• 4 carrots; halved lengthwise

• 6-8 bibb lettuce leaves

• ⅓ cup pepitas

• ⅓ cup feta cheese

• ½ cup sour cream

• 2 tsp turmeric

• 2 tsp fresh lemon juice

• 2 tsp marjoram

• Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

In a mixing bowl whisk together sour cream, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and marjoram.  Cover the crema and refrigerate until needed.  

Add a tablespoon of the olive oil to a large saute pan and place over high heat.  When the pan has become very hot and the oil begins to smoke, very carefully add the cucumbers cut side down.  Sear the cucumbers for approximately one minute then flip and lower the heat.  Continue to saute the cucumbers for another two minutes then remove from the pan and drain on paper towels.

Toss the carrots with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil then season with salt and pepper.  Cook the carrots in a saute pan over medium heat until fork tender, then set aside and drain on paper towels until ready to use.  

Plate the lettuce leaves then fan out the carrots and cucumbers on top.  Liberally add the crema  then garnish with the pepitas and feta.