This fresh summer cucumber salad with herbed yogurt is perfectly paired with sweet chiogga beets and your herbs of choice. It’s truly a celebration of summer!
Summer is often plentiful with the usual suspects: cucumbers, beets (ginormous beets!), fresh herbs like dill and parsley. I’m speaking for myself but maybe you agree, we can also use a step away from the stove to cool down. Quick, easy and filling lunch meals is what I’m after, something that comes together in under 10 minutes. This summer cucumber salad with herbed yogurt is exactly that.
Prep The Beets Ahead Of Time
You can easily boil your beets (I do this with the fan on, semi-covered, to not heat the house). If this is the case, simmer for about 45 minutes, or until they are fork tender. But you may also wrap them in foil and roast them at 350 for about 35-45 minutes, depending on size. You do you, and whatever is the easiest for you. It does help to do this at night, when the weather is a bit cooler, and you can even open up the windows to let in some breeze. Or roast them on the grill for dinner, and have the leftovers for this salad the next day. Any of these methods work, so you do you.
That said, with the beets already done, this salad is super quick to make.
Herbs
My whole life, I thought I hated dill and parsley. Mostly, I grew up eating both of these herbs cooked in many Romanian dishes (they’re the unofficial herbs of Romanian cuisine). I just thought I didn’t enjoy herbs until one day I tried both dill and parsley raw and absolutely loved them. It turns out I just didn’t like them cooked! Now I add herbs to everything. Cool zucchini soups, over hummus, sprinkled over cucumbers with salt, or how I’ve paired here with an almond yogurt. It’s basically my take on a quick & simple tzatziki, except the cucumber is not in the dip but served as a salad.
For now, if you don’t enjoy dill, feel free to sub any of the following: fresh chives, parsley, cilantro, tarragon, oregano, etc.
Cucumber Ribbons
For this recipe, you’ll need to make cucumber ribbons. Use any regular cucumber (not small Kirby’s) or English cucumber for this purpose. Regular cucumbers tend to have thick skin, so feel free to peel it. English cucumbers have softer skin, and they don’t need to be peeled in this application. I just use a wide veggie peeler like this one, or a simple mandolin like this one and make long, thin ribbons. You can also use a regular veggie peeler. Only peel the solid part of the cucumber, and stop right at the seeds. Save the middle seedy part for future salads.
A Note on Doubling This Recipe
The amounts of cucumber and beet is completely up to you. This salad is very hearty, so I find that I don’t need a lot. But certainly, you can ribbon a whole cucumber and slice a few beets and double the sauce and have yourself the components of this salad for a couple of meals, easily.
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Summer Cucumber Salad with Herbed Yogurt
Ingredients
- 3 oz cucumber ribbons (see note below) (from about 1/2 cucumber, see notes)
- 3 oz sliced cooked beets (about 2 small beets)
- 2 oz almond yogurt, plain, unsweetened
- wedge of lemon, squeezed
- pinch of salt
- handful dill, minced (or other herbs you enjoy)
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- lots of freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- First, make the herbed yogurt sauce: Combine the yogurt, dill, salt, garlic and lemon, and season to your taste.
- Next, assemble the salad: Layer the cucumber ribbons with the beets and drizzle the sauce over. Top with freshly ground black pepper and enjoy!
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