Datacenter Down Salad
Based on:
TypeSalad
Serves4 people
DateOctober 11, 2026
Cucumber server racks, onion and chili lights: an offline datacenter, but edible.
This salad depicts an offline datacenter: upright rows of cucumber as servers, with red onion and chili as flashing error lights. The dressing is sharp and sour for extra tension. Fits the news about the disabled Russian datacenters.
Ingredients
- 2 large cucumbers
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1 red onion
- 1 red chili pepper
- 200 g feta cheese
- 100 g pitted black olives
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- salt and black pepper
Method
- Wash the cucumbers. Cut them into 8 cm pieces and halve lengthwise to make 16 sturdy half 'racks'.
- Cut the red bell pepper into thin 5 cm strips.
- Slice the red onion into thin half rings.
- Slice the chili pepper into thin rings.
- Cut the feta into small cubes.
- Mix olive oil, white wine vinegar, lemon juice, mustard, salt and pepper for the dressing.
- For each person, stand 4 cucumber halves upright side by side as a server rack in the center of the plate.
- Lay some bell pepper strips between the cucumbers as cables.
- Scatter red onion, chili pepper, and olives around the racks as error lights and offline signals.
- Distribute the feta cubes around and over the salad.
- Drizzle the dressing over everything.
Serving notes
- Serve on a large flat plate so the 'server racks' are clearly visible.
- Offer crusty bread to dip in the dressing.