Cucumber Salad for your Fourth of July picnic
japra | Jul 02, 2008 | Comments 17
Last week, Barrie asked me if I would share a recipe for the Forth of July. She suggested perhaps I could post something from England, since I live here, or Germany, since I was just there on holiday. She’s linking to recipes today, so be sure to drop by her site!
Hmmm. I tried thinking about all the side dishes and desserts I’ve brought to BBQs in the past, but none of them really stood out as being particularly British or German. I am from Texas after all. Sometimes I bring a spinach and artichoke dip with tortilla chips, a nice green salad, brownies, or a strawberry cake.
But I had an ah-ha moment this weekend as I was making California Rolls, of all things. As I was slicing an amazingly long cucumber I realized that what I was slicing was a lovely English Cucumber. English. Cucumber. Cucumber Salad! I know how to make that! And by using English cucumbers, that makes it an English recipe, right? Er, right? (I know, no).
I apologize ahead of time as this is one of those “a dash of this and a pinch of that” recipes. Your eyeballing skills will get a little workout. But this is a really easy recipe, I promise.
By the way, if you’ve never actually tried an English cucumber, they’re awesome! Less wet that the cucumbers we’re used to in the States, these beauties are long and delicious. I can see why the English like their cucumber sandwiches. So fresh and tasty.
This recipe is based on my mother-in-law’s, who I think got hers from her mother-in-law. We have this at Thanksgiving and Christmas but I think it would be great at a Fourth of July picnic too. Oh, if you are lucky and have some cucumber salad leftover, it’s great the next day in a lightly toasted pita.
Cucumber Salad
4 cucumbers (or two really long English cucumbers)
1 red onion
a bottle of vinaigrette dressing (your choice I usually just use Italian)
1+ cup sour cream
Optional: fresh dill or fresh mint
The night before:
Peel the cucumbers and slice them in half the long way. Use a teaspoon to scrape out the seeds and then slice into relatively thin, uniform slices. I use a mandoline because I have one, but you can certainly do a nice job with a sharp knife. Also, you don’t have to peel the cucumbers if they’re not waxed. But I liked them peeled anyway. Or at least scored on the outside with a fork before I cut them. If you’re using a wet variety of cucumber, you might want to put the slices in a colander and sprinkle with a little salt. Let sit for a couple of hours in the fridge and pat dry with a paper towel. If you’re using English cucumbers, you can skip the draining step. And really, you can just skip the draining step if you don’t feel up to it. I’ve done it that way before too.
Peel the onion and quarter lengthwise. Slice thinly, discarding the ends.
Place the cucumber and onion slices in a bowl (a zip lock bag works too) and pour in enough dressing to cover the vegetables. Place in the refrigerator overnight. If you can, give the cucumbers a little jiggle before you go to bed.
The next day…
Drain the salad really well and discard the marinade. Here’s where your eyeballing skills come in handy. Stir in some sour cream, maybe start with 1 cup, adding a little bit at a time until it looks right to you.
Sprinkle in a little fresh dill or mint if you like. Put it in a nice bowl, cover with cling film. and place in the fridge until ready to serve.
Easy, huh? It tastes really good too. Nice and cool with a bit of a kick from the red onion.
It also goes really well with…
… very large beers, in this case from the famous Hofbräuhaus in Munich. These beers are also here to wish our rockin‘ friend Axeman a wunderbarste birthday. Prost!
About the Author: JaPRA is an expat Texan living in England with her husband (Mr. DJ), their 17-year old daughter (Roxi), and their dog Trudy.
I would have never thought of cucumber salad with beer…or sour cream.
Happy Birthday to the Axeman!
(Is this the same grandmother who passed down the pumpkin soup recipe?)
My mother-in-law is English (she was a war bride), and speaks of cucumber salads and sandwiches all the time. I’ll have to share this with her.
I love cucumbers! And this looks nice and easy. Thanks for joining in!
hmm that does look easy and I adore cucumbers. i am growing some in my garden as we speak. Last year I ended up giving away a lot of them because I couldn’t think of anything to do with them. This year it will be cucumber salad all the way!
Laurie–It’s all good! And yes, the same grandmother. Hope I’m not breaking family law by posting this recipe. It’s probably not at all what grandma would have done.
Debra–I am so enamoured with English cucumbers right now! Seriously in love. They’re going in everything :-)
Barrie–Thanks for organizing this fun exchange! I have loved seeing everyone’s recipies.
Chantal–Have you tried making pickles? But yes, for sure cucumber salad!! You can skip the sour cream part if you get tired of that.
Wow that sounds fabulous – and I love beer.
I’m a fan of Mexican beer and German micro-brewery beers (on tap). (I spent my college summers living in Germany!)
I bet your salad goes really well with curried veg!
i love english cucumbers!! i cut them into chunks and eat them like a carrot!! great recipe, love that you posted a pic of beer with it!! :)
This sounds really good. I gotta try these. I’ve never had English cucumbers before…I wonder if I can locate some for this recipe.
I love cucumber sandwiches.
Your cucumber salad sounds DELICIOUS! :)
Cucumbers are cool – I just bought a long English one the other day – perfect timing.
Thanks!
Must be nice to be overseas and to slip down to Germany for a beer now and then. :)
You mean there are foods that DON’T go with beer? Really? Hmmm the idea is strange and foreign to me…Just kidding.
Great recipe!
What a great recipe! I wish I were more creative and thoughtful in my cooking.
Janeyv–Dos Equis is good but right now I’m digging the German stuff. We’re going to Belgium later this month, and I’m looking forward to trying a few of their 100+ varieties of brew ;-) I bet you’re right about the salad going well with curry. mmmmm.
Christine–I can’t get your hot spinach dip off the brain!
Jason–You can use any kind of cucumber. No need to spend the big bucks on the fancy kind.
Mary–I really need to learn how to make cucumber sandwiches. I love your icon, by the way!
Gabe–It IS really great :-) We are having such a wonderful time here.
Annie–Hahahahahahaha!
Alyson–I am positive that you are a wonderful cook! And please keep in mind that I hardly ever cooked back in Texas. I am dead serious. We went out to eat A LOT. And we bought prepared food A LOT. Since we moved to England (in the boonies, no less), not only was I was forced to re-learn how to cook every day meals (I could do fancy), but I also had to learn how to cook all of our favorite restaurant dishes as well. Plus you have four kids. I am amazed you have time for, well, anything!
I love cucumber salad – and beer goes with everything doesn’t it? Like brats soaked in beer. Chips and beer. Burgers and beer. I think I have a theme going here. Happy 4th!
English cucumbers really are yummier. I wonder how this salad would be with creme fraiche instead of sour cream?
Ohhh – sounds great!
Thanks for stopping by the Lunatic Fringe. I appreciate comments so much…well, I am actually addicted, so seeing a comment from someone new is AWESOME! thanks!
Love your header on your blog. Looks great!
I look forward to reading more about your adventures on the other side of the pond!
Cheers!
Happy July 4th!
Bee–I imagine it is delicious!
Laura–Well your sex in the pan recipe (and story) was too funny ;-)