The cucumber can be grilled/barbecued or left fresh. If the former, you’ll need to eat it within the hour else it will discolour.
Serve just as they are, alongside a main, or with roast potatoes or sweet potatoes topped with a dollop of creme fraiche. Serves six as a side dish.
2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1½ tbsp lime juice
2 tbsp sunflower oil
3cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
Flaked sea salt
1 small garlic clove, peeled
2 cucumbers
2 large mild red chillies, cut in half lengthways and deseeded
5g mint leaves, roughly torn
5g coriander leaves, roughly chopped
½ tsp nigella seeds
For the dressing, whisk the vinegar, lime juice and oil in a small bowl. Put the ginger in a mortar with a teaspoon of salt, then crush to a paste. Add the garlic and pound again, until you have a coarse paste. Scrape the garlic and ginger into the dressing bowl and stir to combine.
Cut each cucumber in half widthways, then cut each half lengthways. If serving fresh just scoop out the fleshy centre before cutting into quarters and then slices. If grilling, cut into quarters, lay the cucumber pieces on a very hot barbecue or griddle pan, and grill for four minutes a side (ie, 12 minutes in total), until they have visible char marks all over. Leave to cool slightly, then cut into 0.5cm-thick slices.
Put the cucumbers in a large bowl with a quarter-teaspoon of salt and combine with three-quarters of the dressing, then set aside for 10 minutes while you cook the chillies.
Grill/barbecue the chillies for two minutes on each side until they get dark char marks. Leave to cool slightly, then cut into very thin slices, and mix with cucumbers and two-thirds of the herbs.
Use a large spoon to transfer the cucumbers and chillies to a platter, leaving behind most of the liquid (this can now be discarded). Drizzle the remaining dressing on top, scatter over the nigella seeds and remaining herbs, and serve.