There are so many different ways to make cucumber into delicious salad… I’ll be adding all my favourite variations here, starting with:

 

Cucumber Salad with DillCucumber Salad with Dill

 

Ingredients

One large cucumber

a handful of fresh dill, chopped.

a pinch of salt or sugar

a splash of apple cider vinegar (optional)

 

Method

1. Use a mandoline (or the thin slicing disc on your food processor) to slice the cucumber paper thin.

2. Sprinkle on the vinegar, the fresh dill and the salt or sugar, and stir.

3. Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving. You’ll find that the salt/sugar has drawn the water out of the cucumber, so that it’s sitting in a watery liquid; leave this in the bowl as it will keep the cucumber moist until you’re ready to eat it. The salad will keep in the fridge for a day or two.

 

Notes: Take care when using a mandoline –  the blades are super sharp and many people underestimate how easy it is to slice a fingertip when slicing at speed. Learn from other people’s experience and always use the food holder or consider a protective glove.

If you don’t have a mandoline or a food processor, you can certainly try slicing the cucumber very very thinly with a knife, but it will take you much longer to do, and I’m afraid that no matter how carefully you chop, you won’t get quite the same result.

You can leave out either the sugar or the salt, but do use one or the other. If you don’t have any cider vinegar, white wine vinegar is the next best thing; rice vinegar would work too, but whatever you do, do NOT use distilled or malt vinegar – if that’s all you have, just leave the vinegar out.

 

 

Cucumber Salad with Dill
 
A refreshing cucumber-dill salad
Author:
Ingredients
  • One large cucumber
  • a handful of fresh dill, chopped.
  • a pinch of salt or sugar
  • a splash of apple cider vinegar (optional)
Instructions
  1. Use a mandoline (or the thin slicing disc on your food processor) to slice the cucumber paper thin.
  2. Sprinkle on the vinegar, the fresh dill and the salt or sugar, and stir.
  3. Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving. You'll find that the salt/sugar has drawn the water out of the cucumber, so that it's sitting in a watery liquid; leave this in the bowl as it will keep the cucumber moist until you're ready to eat it. The salad will keep in the fridge for a day or two.
Notes
Take care when using a mandoline - the blades are super sharp and many people underestimate how easy it is to slice a fingertip when slicing at speed.

You can leave out either the sugar or the salt, but do use one or the other. If you don't have any cider vinegar, white wine vinegar is the next best thing; rice vinegar would work too, but whatever you do, do NOT use distilled or malt vinegar - if that's all you have, just leave the vinegar out.