The recipe I am about to share with you is for one of my absolute favorite summer dishes: Cucumber Tomato Salad. That’s what we call it at my house at least. Home grown cucumbers and tomatoes with a tangy vinegar dressing on a hot summer night is a salad like no other. And what’s even better is it is probably the most simple salad to make.
You’ll Need:
- Three to Four Medium to Large Cucumbers
- Two Large Tomatoes
- One large Onion, can be purple or white
- Salt and Pepper
- Apple Cider Vinegar (1 cup)
- Sugar (1 cup)
Homegrown vegetables are the best and you can find them at a farmer’s market. If you have to choose which vegetable to buy from a farmer’s market, definitely go for the tomatoes. We grow all of our own vegetables at home and the tomatoes make the most difference in this recipe. Also, a tip on buying them: little stands outside houses that seem to be a farmhouses or are located in a rural setting tend to be good! Sometimes farmers markets or flea markets will rip you off, so look for the people who look like they actually grew these vegetables. Heirloom tomatoes are much better but if you plan on buying them, look them up online so you know what you’re looking for. Some people will claim they are selling heirloom tomatoes when in fact they are not, and you don’t want to get ripped off since heirloom tomatoes can be a little more expensive. But again, go for the people who look like they actually grew the vegetables and you should be set.
Preparation:
Cucumbers
If you like the skin on your cucumbers, feel free to cut them up with the skin on. I prefer to peel the cucumbers (by peel, I mean taking a peeler to the cucumber like you would peel the skin off an apple). Peeled or not, then slice the cucumbers into discs. Go with your judgment on the thickness, not too thick but not really skinny; just think about what you’d want to eat. Put cucumbers in a bowl, the same one you plan on serving it in.
Tomatoes
Slice the tomatoes into discs and then cut them in half. Put in the bowl with the cucumbers.
Onions
Peel off the papery skin from the onion and then once again, cut the onion into discs and then cut them in half. Add to the bowl.
Side note:
There really isn’t a set number for the vegetables, just make sure the salad has somewhat of a balance between the tomatoes and onions. There should be slightly more cucumbers than any of the other vegetables. But if you want more tomatoes than anything else go for it; that’s the good thing about this recipe, you can change it to match your taste.
Dressing:
Combine sugar and vinegar into a container that can be sealed well and shaken. Combine them, and shake well till the sugar dissolves.
Final Preparation:
Sprinkle salt and pepper over the vegetables and stir. Pour the dressing over the vegetables and mix well. Then serve! The longer everything sits together though, the better it will be. So if you want, you can prepare this a little ahead of time and let it chill in the refrigerator. Any leftover dressing can be reused if you want; it’s even more flavorful after the vegetables were in it. Just add more vegetables! This salad should serve about three to four people.