The secret to this salad is salting the cucumbers. After slicing them thin, we generously salt and leave them alone for 30 minutes. As they sit, the cucumbers become even more “cucumbery” and release extra moisture, which, if not removed, would make the dressing watery. Then, they are tossed with a simple dressing and left to marinate for at least 1 hour, but no more than a day. The salad takes a little extra time with salting and marinating, but your hands-on time is minimal.
The inactive time for this recipe is 1 1/2 hours. We like to slice the cucumbers thin (1/16-inch or 1.5 mm) for this. After making the salad, the cucumbers are crisp but a little floppy. If you’d like the cucumbers to be more substantial, slice them thicker.
2 hot house or seedless cucumbers, about 1 1/2 pounds
Salt
2 to 3 teaspoons granulated sugar, depending on how sweet you like the salad
1/4 cup (60 ml) cider vinegar or distilled white vinegar
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/4 of a medium red onion, thinly sliced
Thinly slice cucumbers, toss with two teaspoons of salt, then add to a colander set over the sink or bowl. Let sit for 30 minutes.
Rinse cucumbers with cold water, then squeeze excess water from them. (To make this easy, we add the cucumbers to a clean dish towel, then tie it up and squeeze).
In a large bowl, whisk together two teaspoons of sugar, vinegar, and mustard. Taste, then add the additional teaspoon of sugar if needed. Add cucumbers, and red onion, then toss. Refrigerate salad at least 1 hour and up to a day before serving.
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