Guest Recipe: Jesse Jenkins' Smashed Cucumber Caesar

Five-minute Caesar salad that'll change how you think about cucumbers {gf, nf}

The wonderfully talented Jesse and I crossed paths a couple of years back, and I somehow managed to convince him to pop over to Stockholm for a little food photography workshop. What a revelation that was! He completely transformed how I approach my shoots - nothing fancy, just my trusty phone and whatever natural light the window was generous enough to offer.

But here's the thing about Jesse: it's never style over substance. The man knows his flavours inside and out, which is why I'm absolutely chuffed to have him as this week's guest recipe contributor.

His Smashed Cucumber Caesar Salad from Cooking With Vegetables takes the beloved classic and gives it the most brilliant crisp, cool makeover. Drawing inspiration from Korean oi muchim, Jesse's smashing technique creates these wonderfully jagged cucumber edges that practically drink up every drop of that rich, punchy Caesar dressing.

The result? Something gloriously crunchy, gloriously creamy, and utterly satisfying - a proper reinvention of a familiar favourite that's absolutely perfect for summer sharing. Sometimes the best ideas come from looking at old classics through fresh eyes.

Tell me about your favourite summer salad in the comments!

Keep up with Jesse’s delicious updates on his Instagram and Substack—well worth a scroll.

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SMASHED CUCUMBER CAESAR

{nf}

SERVES: 4

THE INGREDIENTS

• 3 cucumbers, washed

• 3 tbsp panko breadcrumbs 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 2 garlic cloves, bashed (skin

  on)

• 4 thyme sprigs

• grated zest of 1 lemon

• handful of chives, thinlysliced

• handful of parsley, finely chopped

• salt and pepper

For the dressing

• 4-6 tinned anchovy fillets in oil, crushed to a paste

• 25g Parmesan cheese, grated with microplane grater

• 1 egg yolk

• 15g Dijon mustard

• juice of 1 lemon

• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

• 1 tsp Tabasco

• 100ml extra virgin olive oil

Smash the whole cucumbers using the flat side of a large knife until they start to break down, then roughly chop them into uneven, large bite-sized pieces. Put them in a colander over a bowl with a good pinch of salt, mix well and set aside for 15-20 minutes.

Meanwhile, toast the breadcrumbs in the olive oil in a frying pan with the garlic cloves and thyme till golden brown. Remove from the heat and season with salt and the lemon zest while hot, then set aside.

You can make the dressing in the same way as you would a mayonnaise, putting all the ingredients other than the oil into a bowl and mixing well, then slowly streaming in all the oil, whisking constantly throughout. Otherwise, blend all the ingredients at once in a blender (I often blend it). Check for seasoning.

Drain the cucumbers, then add them to the dressing with half the herbs. Mix well, then finish with the toasted breadcrumbs and the rest of the herbs.

Abbreviations:

v- Vegetarian, pb - Plant based, gf - Gluten Free, nf - Nut free, df - Dairy free.

Extracted from COOKING WITH VEGETABLES by Jesse Jenkins (Published by Bluebird on 12th June 2025, £28) Photography by Jesse Jenkins

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