Lemon Cucumber Salad
I am really not a salad person. It takes a lot to get me to order one at dinner or make at home. I have never understood those people who look at menus, see a salad, and gasp in excitement at how good they sound… in fact, that kind of annoys me (partially because I wish I could be that way). That’s why I love recipes like this. It’s a nice variation from the traditional dinner salad, which I know everyone has to get tired of. This cucumber salad is so light, so full of bright, clean flavors, and highly addictive.
My new tradition on weeknights is to invite one of my best friends over for dinner and cook a bunch of healthy stuff for the week. We have a couple of glasses of wine in the process, but for the most part, the dinners are really light and clean (plus, we had just finished a bar method class so we earned that wine)! I suggest everyone to do something like this. Having a good friend around cooking with you just makes everything so much more fun, and you will be surprised at how fast time flies. Stuff like this makes me so happy I can’t even describe it :).
Here are my cooking buddies :). No, they aren’t posing! 😉
This girl is one of the best things that has happened to me in the last year :). I love our nights that we spend completely in the kitchen cooking and hanging out. Sorry for being gushy Nat, I’ll stop now.
We ended up cooking enough to last us the next 3 days! The menu consisted of vegetarian mushroom stroganoff and this cucumber salad, and they both came out incredible. Albert was literally licking the bowl we served the cucumbers in, begging us to make more…. that’s how you know we did good :).
Be sure to use the hashtag #ATastyMess and post the photo of your dish on social media! I can’t wait to see your creations!!
- 6-8 small cucumbers (I like to use Persian, they are so sweet and juicy)
- 1 cup of baby greens (sprouts, watercress, anything like that)
- zest of 1 lemon, sprinkle on top to finish
- 3 tbsp. olive oil
- 1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp. freshly grated or minced ginger
- 2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
- 1 tsp. umami powder (you can purchase on my site or amazon)
- 2 tbsp. rice wine vinegar
- salt and pepper, pinch of each
- Wash the cucumbers well. You can either peel them or not, I prefer to leave the peel on. Take a mandoline slicer, set it to the thinnest setting, and slice all the cucumbers. Place them in a dish with the baby greens.
- In a small bowl, whisk together all the dressing ingredients. Then pour the dressing on top of the cucumber salad, and top with lemon zest. Enjoy!
I’m a big fan of lemon…would lime also work with this??
I’m also a HUGE cucumber fan….but I prefer NOT to wash mine is that okay?