This easy cucumber salad is here due to a friend’s request, and I’m always happy to accommodate my friends and their appetites. Food is definitely my love language (BTW, what’s yours?).
This is my mom’s recipe and it’s something that will be found on 90% of any given dining table at our house during the summer. We treat it almost as a condiment, ever present, and perfect to add a bit of freshness to a summer spread that might be otherwise laden with mayo-based salads and big plates of meat. Not that there is anything wrong with either of those things.
The thing about this cucumber salad is that I think it’s just fine. It’s fine! I find cucumbers themselves to be a bit…lacking in character and so while it’s not the first thing I grab for at mealtime, everyone else LOVES it. Like, can’t get enough and they always want Mom’s recipe.
But like many of mom’s recipes, she has no actual recipe. Why would she?
Because my friend (and many others) doesn’t like to just wing it in the kitchen, I couldn’t very well pass along the loose guidance Mom sent in her text (which she couldn’t further solidify in more than one conversation). It forced me to try my own hand at it instead. It’s fine, I like a challenge.
I will say, it’s easy and it is to taste (more salt, more vinegar, as you will), but if you do need some guidance, I did my best to make it as close to Mom’s recipe that everyone knows and loves. Brother approved this copycat version.
We’ve got 6 ingredients:
Cucumber
Salt
Vinegar
Dill
Garlic
Sugar
The key is to slice the cukes SUPER thin. Grab the mandolin, watch your fingers and get those babes as paper thin as you can.
If you don’t have a mandoline, I’d say get your sharpest knife and take your time. Also, you might want to buy one – I’m not for extraneous kitchen gadgets, but when you need one, you need one.
** My recipe card is acting funky – until it’s fixed, here is the recipe in full**
1 medium cucumber, 9″ long, sliced very thin with a mandolin
1 1/2 tsp salt
3 TB vinegar
2 tsp chopped fresh dill
1 clove garlic, grated
1/4 – 1/2 tsp sugar
In a medium bowl, mix together the cucumbers and salt. Mix well and place the cucumbers in a sieve set over the same bowl and let sit about 30 minutes until the juices start to come out.
After the cukes have set, to the strained liquid, add the vinegar, garlic and sugar. Add the cucumbers back to the bowl, add the dill and mix well.;;This can sit in the fridge for about a week.
If you’d like to make this creamy, add plain yogurt to taste. It’s equally good and refreshing.
Easy Cucumber Salad
July 28, 2022
: 2
Easy cucumber salad is the perfect summer salad- vinegar rather than cream based, with simply dill, garlic and a pinch of sugar
Ingredients
- 1 medium cucumber, 9" long) sliced very thin with a mandolin
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 3 TB vinegar
- 2 tsp chopped fresh dill
- 1 clove garlic, grated
- 1/4 - 1/2 tsp sugar
Directions
- Step 1 In a medium bowl, mix together the cucumbers and salt. Mix well and place the cucumbers in a sieve set over the same bowl and let sit about 30 minutes until the juices start to come out.
- Step 2 After the cukes have set, to the strained liquid, add the vinegar, garlic and sugar. Add the cucumbers back to the bowl, add the dill and mix well.
- Step 3 This can sit in the fridge for about a week.
- Step 4 If you’d like to make this creamy, add plain yogurt to taste. It’s equally good and refreshing
