Cucumber & Tomato Salad
Submitted by yoyo
Turkish-style cucumber and tomato salad with paper-thin onion, fresh dill, green chili peppers, and a lemon-vinegar dressing. A bright, crisp side dish.
YIELD
6 servingsPREP
10 minCOOK
10 minREADY
20 minA Turkish salad built on the simplest, freshest ingredients. Tomato wedges, thin cucumber slices, and paper-thin onion arranged on a platter, sprinkled with fresh dill and chopped green chili peppers, then dressed with vinegar and oil.
The onion prep is the detail that separates this from a thrown-together side dish. Slicing paper thin, sprinkling with salt, squeezing in your palm, then rinsing and drying. This quick technique tames the raw bite and sharpness, leaving behind mild, slightly sweet onion rings that play well with everything else on the platter.
Keep the dressing light. Just enough vinegar and oil to moisten, not drown. This salad is about the vegetables, not the dressing.
Kitchen Tips
- Use ripe, in-season tomatoes. Out-of-season tomatoes are mealy and tasteless, and there’s nothing in this salad to hide behind.
- Peel the cucumber. Turkish salads traditionally use peeled cucumbers for a cleaner texture.
- Arrange in rows on a platter rather than tossing in a bowl. It looks better and each component keeps its integrity.
- Serve immediately after dressing. Sitting too long draws water from the vegetables and dilutes the flavors.
Variations
- Add crumbled feta cheese on top for a Greek-inspired version.
- Swap the green chili peppers for thinly sliced banana peppers for milder heat.
- Use sumac instead of vinegar for a more authentically Turkish sour flavor.
Ingredients
Directions
Cut tomatoes into 10 wedges.
Pare the cucumber; cut it in half lengthwise and then in thin slices.
Cut onion in half lengthwise and then slice paper thin.
Put the onion slices into a bowl, sprinkle with salt and squeeze in the palm of a hand.
Rinse and pat dry.
On a platter, arrange in succession rows of tomatoes, cucumber slices and onion pieces.
Sprinkle with the dill, salt and chili pepper.
Mix vinegar and dressing and pour over the salad enough to moisten it well.
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