During these summer months, I am always keen to make fresh little salads to use as starters or side dishes. These go down a treat with meat and/or fish and they are perfect for picnics and/or barbecues. Last week, when I was in France, a friend of my dad made us a delicious cucumber salad, which transported me right back to my childhood. I was pleasantly surprise to see my toddler boys devouring it so I thought it was a must share with you too!
When you take a spoonful of this cucumber salad, you first enjoy the light creaminess of it but then as your teeth get into the cucumber you get the crunch… yummm… In a unique way it feels both indulgent and refreshing, which makes it designed for summer days.
Salting the cucumbers releases extra moisture and prevent your dressing from becoming too watering. Somehow it as well substantially enhances the taste of the cucumber itself.
My mum was making an even healthier version of this cucumber salad as she would not add any crème fraîche. She would simply follow the salting process and season with chives. She would not even bother to cut the cucumbers sideways and scoop out the seeds. She would just peel them and slice them thinly. It was delicious too so… your call :-) I’m simply alternating both recipes!
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Salade de concombre – cucumber salad –
In a unique way this cucumber salad feels both indulgent and refreshing. It is designed for summer days.
- 2 cucumbers
- 2 tsp cooking salt
- 2 tbsp crème fraîche (half fat)
- chives (about 10 leaves)
- pepper (optional)
- Wash the cucumbers and chop off the edges. Peel the cucumbers and cut them in half length-way.
- With a teaspoon, gently scoop out the seeds and discard them. Chop the cucumbers into thin slices and place into a mixing bowl. Add the cooking salt and leave to rest for at least 20 minutes.
- Rinse the cucumbers and gently squeeze out excess water from them. Place into your serving bowl.
- Wash and snip the chives with scissors over the cucumbers. Add the crème fraiche and season to taste with pepper. Mix thoroughly. Refrigerate until serving.
Other side salads recipes:
- Tuscan white beans salad, from Elizabeth’s Kitchen Diary
- Overnight dill cucumber pickles, from Maison Cupcake
- Green beans with a tofu, miso & sesame dressing and smoky paprika coleslaw, by Kavey Eats
I am taking this opportunity to link to two great blogging events I have discovered lately:
- No Crouton Required, a blogging event listing vegetarian soup and salad recipes co-hosted by Jacqueline from Tinned Tomatoes, and Lisa from Lisa’s Kitchen
- Eat Your Greens, a food blogging challenge intended at making us eat more green vegetables, hosted by Shaheen from A2K – A Seasonal Veg Table
What a gorgeous simple summer salad – beautiful photos too :) Thanks for linking up with my own summer salad recipe.
Thank you! Can’t wait to try your recipe!
Its really lovely and sounds quite refreshing. Its a nice way with cucumbers, I think it would be great in a sandwich too.
Yum, my mum used to put cucumbers in our sandwiches too… sooo good!
I have pretty much the exact same recipe planned to be posted next week. Great minds think alike ;) I love cucumber salad – it is so refreshing.
LOL – I’ll make sure I’ll try your variation too! Loving it.
Such a lovely simple little salad, it sounds wonderfully refreshing
Thank you :-) it is really refreshing indeed :-)))
Such a fresh salad and I like the contrast of the fresh crunchy cucumber with the creamy dressing. Thanks for entering it into this month’s No Croutons Required. The roundup is now live.
Thank you :-) Great roundup!
Lovely and refreshing! I wish I had seen this earlier in the summer…… we had a glut of cucumbers in the greenhouse, but sadly they have now all finished. Oh well….. there’s always next year!
Thank u! Need to try next year indeed :-)))
Oh that looks and sounds lovely. I love cucumber! And thank you for linking to two of my recipes!
Oh this looks so simple and delicious, I must try it! Thanks for sharing my recipes too!
I love cucumbers, and that combination of creamy and crunchy sounds so good!
I’ve come across this lovely kind of cucumber salad and meant to make it but always forgot, so good to see your recipe.
Thanks for sharing my tattoo salads!