Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Marinated Cucumber Salad

Last month, my husband and I celebrated our wedding anniversary. Even though we celebrated at that point, I couldn't let yesterday go by without acknowledging its importance. Yesterday marked 10 years that my husband and I have been together. I wanted to make a special dinner for him. He's a big seafood fan, so I decided to make the tilapia that my sister posted some time ago. You can find that recipe here-- it is really a good one! One thing that Rachel did say was that there was a bit of heat with this crust due to the red pepper flakes. I knew my husband would love that aspect of it, but I don't do real well with a lot of extra heat. Rather than adjust the seasoning, I made it as she recommended and chose this cucumber salad to be a 'cool' balance to the heat. This salad was incredibly easy to make and came together very quickly. The only thing to note is that it tastes much better served very cold, so make sure that you allow plenty of time to leave it in the fridge before serving. Now that everyone's cucumbers are coming out of their gardens, it is a great, economical choice for a side dish!

Marinated Cucumber Salad
4 cucumbers, thinly sliced
1 small white onion, thinly sliced
1 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon dried dill, more or less to taste

Toss together the cucumbers and onion in a large bowl. Combine the vinegar, water and sugar in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, and pour over the cucumber and onions. Stir in dill, cover, and refrigerate until cold. This can also be eaten at room temperature, but be sure to allow the cucumbers to marinate for at least 1 hour.

***Important note: Don't make the vinegar solution before chopping the cucumber because it's important that the vinegar solution be hot when poured over the vegetables to ensure proper flavoring.

Source: Allrecipes.com

9 comments:

  1. It's SO hard to believe you and Mike have been together for 10 years!!! That was a good idea to choose this cucumber salad to accompany the tilapia! It looks great--especially for the summer!

    ReplyDelete
  2. This sounds so light and refreshing. Love the dill in here.

    ReplyDelete
  3. This looks perfect for a cool side to any supper! I have to concur with Donna, I love the addition of the dill. Can't wait to try this out.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I haven't had this in years! My mom used to make this all the time growing up. I'm gonna have to make this just for old times sake.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Sarah,

    Congratulations...you won a magazine in my giveaway! I selected the numbers this morning, completely at random and was very excited to see one of your numbers pop up! I'll be mailing it out right away!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Congrats on your recent anniversary!
    Your salad looks super. I remember my mom making pickles when I was a kid. I loved the smell of that warm vinegar poured over those cukes!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I love cucumbers and onions fixed like this. We always had them growing up. In fact, I was given some this week, so I'll be posting them soon too!Yours look perfect!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Like so many others, I had a variation of these cukes, in my mom's house. I would like to bring back those memories and taste this again. Thanks for the memories.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I too remember cukes prepared in this manner from my youth and this summer we planted several cuke plants in our garden and were looking for a way to replicate the flavors of my youth. I tried this recipe and found it to be good but thought it was overly sweet. The second time I prepared it I reduced the sugar level to 1/3 cup and even then still found it to be a little sweeter than I like. The next time I make it I will reduce the sugar to 1/4 cup. I also added 1 teaspoon of celery to add another level of flavor to the mix. Once I get the sweetness level correct this will be my go to recipe for fresh summer cukes.

    ReplyDelete