On a hot day, nothing beats the cool crunch of a good cucumber salad. Cucumber salads, in one form or another, have been around for a very long time. They are easy to make, cool, and fresh. They are a mainstay in many cuisines around the world.
There are, of course, many different kinds, but most of them are either cucumbers in a cream-based sauce or cucumbers in a vinaigrette. The one I’m going to show you today is from the first group. It’s a cucumber yogurt salad that comes from French food.
what goes into a French cucumber salad?
Cucumber salad is a common dish in France. It is served cold with a sauce made of crème Fraiche, Fromage blanc, or yogurt. Most cucumber salads have red onions and dill, but this one has finely chopped chives and chervil. The end result is a salad that tastes more like fresh herbs.
I’ve used yogurt here because it’s by far the easiest to find and adds a nice tartness to the salad. I’ve also switched out the flat-leaf parsley for chervil, which is just as hard to find as flat-leaf parsley. If you can find it or grow it yourself, its taste is more subtle and goes well with the chives.
The simple dressing is made of fresh lemon juice and zest, yogurt, and a little bit of oil. It’s creamy but light, and when mixed with the sliced cucumber, it’s very refreshing.
Which cucumbers work best in salads?
There are many kinds of cucumbers to choose from, but English cucumbers (also called hot house cucumbers or seedless cucumbers) are best for this kind of salad because they have a mild taste and are firm, and have few seeds.
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why are cucumbers salted?
When you salt cucumbers, the salt draws out some of the water, which keeps the cucumber slices crunchy after they’ve been dressed and keeps your sauce from getting too watery. Luckily, salting cucumbers is easy and doesn’t take much work. Just put cucumber slices in a strainer, sprinkle a pinch of salt on top, and let them sit for about 30 minutes while the water drains below.
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how to make a Cucumber Yogurt Salad:
- You start by putting salt on the slices of cucumber.
- In the meantime, mix the lemon juice, zest, oil, and herbs into the yogurt with a whisk.
- Toss the salted cucumber slices with the dressing, then put them in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to let the flavors blend.
- This French cucumber salad is light, crunchy, and easy to make. It’s a great addition to any summer meal and goes well with anything from the grill.
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things that go into the cucumbers:
2 English cucumbers that have been peeled and cut into ¼-inch pieces
For the dressing,
- 1/2 teaspoon of fine sea salt
- 1/2 cup (113 ml) of the whole yogurt (I like sheep or goat milk yogurt, but dairy-free yogurt that isn’t sweetened works, too.)
- 2 Tablespoons/30ml lemon juice
- Half of a lemon’s peel
- 1 teaspoon/5ml extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon Dijon mustard ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/8 teaspoon of freshly ground pepper
- a quarter cup of chopped chives
- 14 cups of finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
- Salt the cucumber slices that have been peeled and put them in a colander over a bowl. Mix gently, then set aside for 30 minutes.
- Mix the ingredients for the dressing in a large bowl with a whisk and set it aside.
Slice a cucumber and gently pat it dry, then add it to the dressing. Mix together, then put in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before serving.
