Tasty Cucumbers Marinating In A Fresh Herb Vinaigrette
This Easy Vegan Summer Cucumber Salad is a must try. It’s so quick and the vinaigrette is made with common condiments in your refrigerator. It’s as easy as slicing cucumbers, tomatoes and chopping onions, fresh parsley and fresh dill. Mix in with the vinaigrette ingredients. There you go! Serve right away. Perfect for hot summer days and dinner parties. Great on top of a bed of mixed baby greens. It makes 4 to 5 servings.
A Little Cucumber History
We all think of the cucumber as a wonderful summer watery treat from the garden. Little did we know that at one time it was not so delicious and melon like. The original cucumber was so bitter because of high concentrations of cucurbitacins. (Also known as a vegetable of the Cucurbitaceae family) This was not something people would eat. If they did people would get sick and develop toxic squash syndrome. It was kind of like food poisoning.
After selective seed planting from seeds of cucumbers that tasted good we got the cucumber we have today. Although, there are many shapes and sizes of cucumbers from around the world. Some short and fat and others very narrow twisted and long. All creating a beautiful variety to the cucumber kingdom.
Many sources say different things on where the first cucumber came from. Being that, I have found most scholars say they came from India where the genetic diversity of the cucumber is large. That Western Asia and China have cultivated it for at least 3,000 years. Then moving on and migrating to Europe, Greece and then to Italy.
Today it is a loved vegetable in common recipes, to a added wondrous flair in gourmet dishes. Cucumbers have always been a desired add on to salads and very cooling in hot summer temperatures. I hope you like this Easy Vegan Summer Cucumber Salad I have here for you in this blog.
How to Pick A Cucumber For Easy Vegan Summer Cucumber Salad
When eating cucumber from the garden there are all shapes and sizes. I prefer to make this salad with smaller cucumber that are not more then 1 1/2 inches wide. I pick these because the bigger ones have large seeds. The English cucumbers sometimes wrapped in plastic are also great for this dish.
It might not be your first choice but don’t be fooled by pickling cucumbers. I find they have the best taste of all cucumbers. They are the short curved cucumbers with a little spiky skin. Really delicious in flavor!
How To Make Easy Vegan Summer Cucumber Salad
I like to wash and clean my cucumbers and peal strips of the skin off of the cucumbers. It makes the cucumbers look a little more fancy and there is less tough skin in the salad. You can do whatever works for you. I also cut my cherry tomatoes in half so that they do not burst when poked with a fork. Tomato seeds and juice is not something you want all over the front of your shirt or blouse.
Really there are two ways to make this salad. First is cutting the cucumbers, cherry tomatoes and chopping the red onion and fresh herbs. ( You can use a 1 1/2 teaspoons of dried parsley and 1 teaspoon of dried dill for this recipe if you don’t have fresh) Throw it in a large bowl and add the vinaigrette ingredients. Stir it all together well and you have your salad.
The second way is to cut all of your vegetables and fresh herbs throw it into a bowl. Then make your vinaigrette in a separate bowl and mix it well. Pour it on the veggies and herbs and mix together. I find that both ways work just fine. No need to fuss too much. It’s a very easy salad and serves 4 to 5 servings.
I hope you like this yummy super Easy Vegan Summer Cucumber Salad as much as we do. Enjoy!
More Recipes You My Like:
Effortless Heirloom Cherry Tomato Salad
Roasted Portobello Mushrooms with Lentil Sun-dried Tomato Salad
Vegan Maple Caramelized Onion Tart With Cayenne Bourbon Sauce
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Easy Vegan Summer Cucumber Salad
- Prep Time: 10
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 4 to 5 servings 1x
- Category: Salad
- Method: Hand Chop
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This Easy Vegan Summer Cucumber Salad only takes minutes to make. Create this salad when you are in a hurry with 4 cups of sliced cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, red onion, fresh parsley, fresh dill, lemon, cider vinegar, maple syrup, dijon mustard, salt and pepper. Throw it all together stir well and it’s ready. Perfect to go with most meals of the week or unexpected company, dinner parties and summer time fun. Serve by it self or on top of baby greens with shredded carrots, sprouts and toasted sesame seeds. Makes about 5 servings.
Ingredients
Easy Vegan Summer Cucumber Salad
- 4 cups Cucumbers, sliced (about 2 cucumbers)
- 1 cup Cherry Tomatoes, cut in half
- 1/3 cup Red Onion, diced
- 2 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1/2 Lg Lemon, juiced (or 2 Tbsp)
- 1/4 cup Fresh Parsley, chopped
- 1/8 cup Fresh Dill
- 1/2 Tbsp Maple Syrup
- 1 tsp Dijon Mustard
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- 2 dashes Cayenne Pepper, Optional
Instructions
Easy Vegan Summer Cucumber Salad
- Wash and clean all the vegetable and herbs. Make sure to pat dry the herbs.
- Start with 2 cucumbers, peal strips down the sides with a peeler. Leave alternating strips of peeled and unpeeled. Cut them into thin round slices either by hand or with a food processor or mandolin slicer. Like the slicer I use in the short YouTube video. Put slices into a large bowl.
- Cut the cherry tomatoes in half, dice the red onion, chop the herbs and add to the bowl.
- Add the rest of the ingredients for the vinaigrette and stir well so that everything is mingled.
- Serve right away for a crisp salad. The longer the salad sits the cucumbers will get soft.
- Serve by it self or on top of a bed of mixed baby greens and top with shredded carrot, sprouts and toasted sesame seeds.
- Enjoy!
