Easy Cucumber Salad

Today we’re making a cucumber salad with dill, mint, pickled red onions, and love. Let’s get started.

Making the Dressing

First off, we’re making the dressing. I’m using ½ cup of white vinegar (you could use champagne or white-wine vinegar if you want to be fancy), ¼ cup of water, and ⅓ cup of granulated sugar. Mix that in, put it over high heat, and stir until it just becomes clear; then set it aside.

Pickling the Onion

I’m using a small red onion—about ½ to ¾ cup, depending on how much you like onion. The key is that it won’t be raw; it’ll get marinated in the vinegar-water-sugar solution and lose a lot of its bite, becoming kind of pickled. Give the onion nice thin slices; too thick and the flavor will overpower. Let the slices hang out in the vinegar mixture while you prep everything else.

Prepping the Cucumbers

This recipe calls for three English cucumbers, but regular cucumbers work too. Peel off a few strips (not all) for visual interest, then slice about ⅛-inch thick. Repeat with the remaining cucumbers.

Salting the Cucumbers

Cucumbers are basically pure water, so as soon as you add dressing and salt they’ll weep. To avoid a watery salad, salt the slices now. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of salt over the layers, toss to distribute, cover, and refrigerate 30–60 minutes. Afterward, drain the released liquid.

Bringing It All Together

Pour the semi-pickled red onions and their liquid over the drained cucumbers and give everything a toss.

Adding Fresh Herbs

Strip the leaves from a big bunch of fresh dill until you have about ¼ cup. Add ¼ cup of fresh mint leaves as well. Give the herbs a rough chop or simply tear them in—it’s your salad.

Final Seasoning

Season with salt and pepper to taste. The result tastes like summer: cool cucumber, sweet-tart onion, fragrant dill, and bright mint. It’s a perfect side dish for nearly anything.