Cucumber Onion Salad

Here’s one of our favorite Cucumber salad recipes and it’s always a hit with my friends and family. Crisp cucumber slices, sweet tangy onions in the perfect lightly dilled dressing…

We grow a ton of cucumbers every year with our homemade soil-less grow buckets. We’ve been using this method for several years now, simply reusing our buckets each season. Luckily, growing the cucumbers using this method ensures that they remain sweet and do not contain a high amount of naturally occurring cucurbitacins, which can give cucumbers a bitter flavor.

Depending on how and where they are grown, cucumbers can develop higher levels of cucurbitacin. If you happen to have a garden and you grow your own cucumbers, here’s how to ensure they remain sweet. 

Regardless of where you got them, before preparing cucumbers for your salad, I recommend you use this tried and true old-time trick to quickly remove the two naturally occurring bitter compounds.

Preparation Tricks

As a side note, if you’re planning on serving this cucumber dill salad on the same day you make it, it’s not necessary to remove the seeds of the cucumber first. However, if you’re preparing this recipe ahead of time to bring to a potluck or to enjoy over the course of a few days, you’ll want to slice the cucumber lengthwise and use a melon baller to scrape out the seeds prior to thinly slicing it.

Otherwise, as the salad sets, the cucumbers begin to get watery and will water down the dressing prematurely. While it still tastes good, the cucumbers will lose their light crunchy texture.

You’ll Need
1 large cucumber, peeled (or scrubbed), seeded and sliced thin
1 medium Red Onion, Peeled and sliced
1 1/2 tsp coarse Himalayan salt
2 Tbsp sour cream
2 tsp fresh dill, chopped
2 tsp vinegar
2 tsp sugar

Put the cucumber slices into a colander and sprinkle with coarse salt. Since it will drain off make sure you have something underneath it to catch any water that drips.

Mix together sour cream, dill, vinegar, and sugar. Cover and place in the fridge.

Let cucumbers drain and dressing chill for at least an hour, up to 2 hours.

Before serving, rinse cucumbers under running water briefly. Pat dry with a paper towel to remove any excess liquid.

Combine Cucumbers and onion slices, Toss with the prepared dressing and serve.

Very easy and very good!

© Can Stock Photo Inc. / pohreen