Cucumber Salad With Dill

Now that Summer is here there are many fresh vegetables available for your table. A Cucumber salad adds a light addition to any meal.

Cucumbers are a great addition because they do not have a strong flavor. Adding fresh herbs to help accent the cucumber flavor is a great way to add flavor to a mild vegetable. I have always associated this cucumber recipe with summer. Served cold, makes for a great side dish for many different dishes.

For this recipe either the garden or English cucumber work well. The English cucumber has thinner skins and smaller seeds. A cucumber salad with dill can add to an otherwise dull meal. To peel or not to peel, If you are using an English cucumber, peeling might not be necessary. I like to use a garden cucumber and peel in lines where the skin is intermittently peeled to give a bit of decoration to the slices.

The slices should be thin, ⅛ – 1/16 in. thick. This helps the flavors migrate into the cucumbers. The thinner the slices the less time it takes for the flavors to infuse with the cucumbers.  Here is where you can practice your knife skills. The salt and vinegar are the conduit for the flavors into the cucumber slices.

One of the main flavors for this recipe is vinegar. Nakano rice vinegar (Seasond) is the vinegar for this recipe. This has a mild flavor and is slightly sweet. Rice vinegar in general is a mild vinegar compared to apple vinegar. The other main flavor is dill. I highly recommend fresh dill. I have tried this with dried dill and it wasn’t nearly the same.