Two Easy Cucumber Salads

Enjoy Crispy Cucumber in Dill Dressing & Sour Cream Cucumber Salads!

Two Easy Cucumber Salads

There are a few common ingredients for these two cucumber salads – cucumbers, vinegar, dill and chives. But each has ingredients which deliver a unique spin.  Crispy Cucumbers in Dill Dressing incorporates wedges of tomato and a tart, vinegar-based dressing. While the original recipe calls for red onion, I swap that out for snipped chives. However, if you’re a red onion fan, do give that a try. This salad was the side dish for a meal featuring pulled pork sandwiches, at our friends cabin.

Our dear friend Tracey gave us some heirloom tomatoes and cucumbers from her garden. I used the delicious tomatoes in multiple Caprese salads. The cucumbers were transformed into Sour Cream Cucumbers. This salad uses a unique technique – salting sliced cucumbers and letting them rest for 30 minutes. This process draws out the moisture and softens the texture. Once you stir the cucumbers into the sour cream and chill for a bit, it creates a wonderful velvety dressing.

Nostalgic Food Feelings

Sour Cream Cucumbers are a great nostalgic recipe which originates from my Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook. Since this cook book was initially published in 1930, I suppose that’s no surprise. I could just picture this homey salad on the table at  a church supper, next to the baked chicken and mashed potatoes.

Cucumber Salad Pairings

As you ponder ways to to pair these salads with other summer dishes, consider these ideas:

• Pair Crispy Cucumbers in Dill Dressing with grilled chicken, fish or burgers. You could also use this salad as a topping for tacos.
• Pair Sour Cream Cucumbers with any dish that has some heat, for a cooling contrast. A few suggestions include BBQ or spicy sausages.

Two Easy Cucumber Salads

Two delicious summer side salads – Crispy Cucumbers in Dill Dressing & Sour Cream Cucumbers

5 from 1 vote

Print Pin Rate

Course: Salad

Keyword: cucmber, dill, sour cream, tomatoes

Servings: 6

Author: Crispy Cucumbers in Dill Dressing adapted from Land O Lakes Treasury of Country Recipes & Sour Cream Cucumbers adapted from Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book

Ingredients

Crispy Cucumbers in Dill Dressing

• 1/4 c. cider vinegar
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
• 1 tbsp. snipped fresh dill or 1/2 tsp. dried dill – I highly recommend fresh dill
• 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
• 2 tbsp. vegetable oil olive oil not recommended for this recipe
• 2 c. sliced cucumbers 1/8″ thick (about 2 medium cucumbers)
• 1 cup sliced red onion 1/8″ thick, or 1 tbsp. snipped chives
• 2 medium ripe tomatoes cut into wedges

Sour Cream Cucumbers

• 2 medium cucumbers peeled and thinly sliced
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 c. sour cream
• 4 tsp. vinegar
• 1 tbsp. snipped chives
• 1 tbsp. snipped fresh dill or 1/2 tsp. dried dill – I highly recommend fresh dill
• dash of pepper

Instructions

Crispy Cucumbers with Dill Dressing

• In large shallow bowl stir together all ingredients except cucumbers, onion and tomatoes. Add remaining ingredients; toss to coat. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.

Sour Cream Cucumbers

• Lay sliced cucumbers out in a single layer (use a large cutting board or a baking sheet) and sprinkle on one side with salt. Let stand for 30 minutes. Drain.
• Combine sour cream, vinegar, chives, dill and pepper. Stir in cucumbers and chill for at least 30 minutes. The dressing will thin out from the remaining moisture in the cucumbers, so be sure to stir before serving.