Cucumber Tomato Salad
Some of the most basic ingredients in your fridge or pantry can become the most delicious dishes ever, such as this Cucumber Tomato Salad. There’s nothing exotic about these ingredients, but when you put them all together, you get light, bright and extremely tasty!
This salad, a variation on a traditional Persian Shirazi salad, is a combination of ripe tomatoes, crispy Persian cucumbers, sliced celery and chopped onions. The traditional method might eliminate the celery and add green peppers, but I chose to use what I had on hand.
Mix up the vinaigrette by combining freshly squeezed lemon juice, extra-virgin olive oil, Kosher salt and pepper.
Chop up an assortment of herbs that you have on hand: mint, cilantro, basil, dill, parsley. Combine the herbs with the veggies and toss with the dressing. Very simple. Very quick. Very extraordinary!
Try this salad as an accompaniment to any grilled meat or fish. It goes beautifully with chicken. Try it with Fast-Fire Flank Steak, Cedar Plank Sesame Salmon or Perfect Roast Chicken. You won’t be disappointed!
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Cucumber Tomato Salad
Makes: 4-6 servings
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt (or Kosher salt) or more, to taste
- 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper or more, to taste
- 4 Persian cucumbers (sometimes called mini cucumbers) or 2 english cucumbers
- 1/2 white or red onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice, or a bunch of thinly-sliced scallions
- 3 tbsp chopped fresh herbs such as mint, cilantro, parsley, basil or dill
- 1 pound of ripe tomatoes, 2-3 medium-sized tomatoes or 1 1/2 pints of cherry tomatoes
- 1 cup celery, thinly sliced on diagonal
Instructions
In a small bowl, make the vinaigrette by whisking the lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper.
Trim the ends off the cucumbers cut them into 1/4-inch dice. Add the cucumbers to a large mixing bowl. Add diced onions, herbs and celery to the bowl.
If using large tomatoes, slice them in half and remove any hard cores, then cut them into 1/4-inch dice. If using cherry tomatoes, no need to core them, just slice them into quarters, and add them to the bowl.
Toss the salad with the vinaigrette just before serving.
Chef’s Note:
To ensure the brightest crispest vegetables, wait to toss the salad with vinaigrette until just before serving. The vegetables can be sliced several hours ahead and kept, covered, in the fridge. The vinaigrette can be made up to two days ahead and refrigerated. Bring the vinaigrette to room temperature, toss with the salad ingredients and serve.
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