Smashed Cucumber Salad With All Of The Crispy, Crunchy Bits

• 1 garlic clove, peeled and grated
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons seasoned rice wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons lime juice
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 pound Japanese cucumbers (you can substitute Persian if you can't find Japanese)
• 2 kiwis, halved, scooped, and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 1 large Asian pear, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2 inch cubes (you can substitute a Honeycrisp apple if you can't find) (about 2 cups of cubes total)
• 3 French breakfast radishes (can substitute round radishes if you can't find breakfast), scrubbed, trimmed, and sliced thinly with a knife or mandoline
• 1/2 cup raw, roughly chopped cashews
• 3 teaspoons sesame seeds
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons drained capers in brine, patted dry
• 3 scallions, rinsed and trimmed (greens and whites) and then finely chopped, divided
• 1 small handful of cilantro leaves, about 1/3 cup loosely packed, rinsed and patted dry (optional)

1. In a large bowl (in which you'll build the salad), make the vinaigrette: whisk together the garlic, soy sauce, rice vinegar, lime juice, and sesame oil.
2. Halve the cucumbers lengthwise. To minimize mess, place them inside a freezer bag. With a rolling pin or meat mallet (or carefully with the heel of a large knife's blade), gently smash the cucumber halves so that their skin cracks and their flesh begins to soften. Transfer to the bowl, breaking into bite-sized pieces with your hands. Leave behind any liquid or seeds. Let the cucumber pieces marinate in the dressing for at least 5 minutes, but for no more than 30 minutes (you want to retain some crunch).
3. After the first 5 minutes, add the kiwi, pear, and radishes.
4. In a dry skillet over medium low heat, toast cashews until they just begin to deepen in shade. Toss in the sesame seeds, give the skillet a shake, and let the cashews and sesame seeds toast together for another minute. Transfer to a plate off heat.
5. In the same skillet, after wiping away any lingering bits, heat oil over a medium flame until it's hot enough to produce bubbles around the tip of a wooden spoon. Add the capers. Fry for 2 to 3 minutes, until crispy and puffed. Use a slotted spoon to transfer them to the plate of toasted cashews and seeds.
6. Finish the cucumber salad by mixing in the cashews, sesame seeds, capers, scallions, and cilantro (if using).

garlic, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, lime juice, sesame oil, cucumbers, kiwis, asian pear, substitute round radishes, cashews, sesame seeds, olive oil, capers, scallions, handful of cilantro leaves

Taken from food52.com/recipes/78289-smashed-cucumber-salad-with-all-of-the-crispy-crunchy-bits (may not work)