Recipes

[Chi-town girl]

Time to pull out the summer salad recipes! Please share your favorites

Fresh dill and sour cream turn the summer staple into something cool, creamy and refreshing. Try this classic Midwestern salad with black bread and smoked salmon, or as a simple side for chicken or fish

• Level: Easy

• Total: 1 hr 10 min (includes standing time)
• Active: 10 min

• Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

4 cucumbers (about 2 1/2 pounds), peeled and sliced into 1/4-inch rounds

1 small sweet onion, thinly sliced into rings

Kosher salt

1/2 cup sour cream

1/4 cup chopped fresh dill

2 tablespoons white vinegar 

Freshly cracked black pepper

Directions

1. Put a large colander in a large bowl. Add the cucumbers and onions to the colander, sprinkle with 1 tablespoon salt and toss until the salt is evenly distributed. Let stand at room temperature for at least 1 hour and up to 2 hours.
2. Transfer the cucumbers and onions from the colander to a paper towel-lined baking sheet and pat them dry with another layer of paper towels. 
3. Whisk together the sour cream, dill, vinegar and a few cracks of black pepper in a medium bowl. Add the cucumbers and onions and toss until coated.
4. To make ahead: Salt and pat dry the cucumbers and onions as above, then keep separate from the dressing until ready to serve

[Chi-town girl]

Ina Garten's recipe:

• Level: Easy
• Total: 6 hr 10 min

• Prep: 10 min
• Inactive: 6 hr

• Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients

4 hothouse cucumbers, thinly sliced (3 to 4 pounds)

2 small red onions, thinly sliced in half rounds

Kosher salt

4 cups (32 ounces) plain whole-milk yogurt

1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream

2 tablespoons champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar

1/2 cup minced fresh dill

1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1. Mix the cucumbers, red onions, and 1 1/2 tablespoons of salt in a bowl. Pour them into a colander and suspend it over a bowl. Wrap the bowl and colander with plastic wrap, and place in the refrigerator to drain for at least 4 hours or overnight. Discard the liquid that collects in the bowl.
2. Pour the yogurt into a sieve lined with a paper towel and suspend it over another bowl. Wrap the bowl and sieve in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight. Discard the liquid that collects in the second bowl.
3. When the cucumbers are ready, roll them up in paper towels or a kitchen towel and press the towel lightly to remove most of the liquid. Place the cucumbers and yogurt in a large bowl with the sour cream, vinegar, dill, 2 teaspoons salt, and the pepper. Toss well and refrigerate for a few hours to allow the flavors to blend. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and serve chilled.

[Chi-town girl]

Asian Cucumber Salad

• Level: Easy
• Total: 10 min

• Prep: 10 min

• Yield: 4 servings

Directions

1. Whisk 3 tablespoons rice vinegar, 1 tablespoon sesame oil, 1/2 teaspoon sugar and 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt. Toss with 1 pound thinly sliced Persian cucumbers, 1/4 cup chopped cilantro, 2 thinly sliced scallions, 1/2 minced red jalapeno, 2 tablespoons thinly sliced pickled ginger and 1 tablespoon sesame seeds. Top with more cilantro.

[AuntG]

My cucumber plant is growing.

[Chi-town girl]

Cucumber-Walnut Salad

This cool and crunchy cucumber salad is loaded with walnuts, onions, herbs and vinegar, making it the perfect accompaniment for almost any main course. ...

• Level: Easy

• Total: 15 min
• Active: 15 min

• Yield: 4 servings

Directions

1. Soak 1/2 thinly sliced red onion in ice water, 5 minutes; drain and pat dry. Combine 1 cup chopped toasted walnuts, the red onion, 6 chopped Persian cucumbers, 1/2 cup chopped parsley and 2 tablespoons chopped dill in a bowl. Add 1 teaspoon sugar, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt and a few grinds of pepper. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons each white wine vinegar and olive oil and toss.

[shoptilyadropagain]

These look soooo good!

[Chi-town girl]

Cucumber and Tomato Salad

This recipe from Rachael Ray is a riff on choban salad, a refreshing chopped salad from Turkey that is also popular throughout the Eastern Mediterranean. You only need a handful of ingredients to make this easy side, which you may already have in your kitchen. A fistful of Italian parsley gives this salad a fresh, green perfume that reminds us of summer

• Level: Easy
• Total: 10 min

• Prep: 10 min

• Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

1/2 English or seedless cucumber, diced

2 vine-ripe tomatoes, diced

Handful flat-leaf parsley, chopped

1/2 medium red onion, chopped

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar, a couple of splashes

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, eyeball it

Salt and pepper

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Dress with vinegar and oil, salt and pepper, to your taste.

[simplyfriends]

This is one of my favorites to bring to a barbecue...

Spaghetti Salad

1 lb box spaghetti 

1 c Italian Salad Dressing

2 T Salad Supreme Seasoning 

1 cucumber cubed

1 red onion cubed

1 green pepper cubed 

Optional:  olives, tomatoes, cubed ham, cubed cheese

Cook spaghetti and drain - run under cold water

Add salad dressing, seasoning and veges.  Toss well and refrigerate overnight if time allows. 

This is my most requested side dish in the summer.  

[Chi-town girl]

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@simplyfriends wrote:

This is one of my favorites to bring to a barbecue...

Spaghetti Salad

1 lb box spaghetti 

1 c Italian Salad Dressing

2 T Salad Supreme Seasoning 

1 cucumber cubed

1 red onion cubed

1 green pepper cubed 

Optional:  olives, tomatoes, cubed ham, cubed cheese

Cook spaghetti and drain - run under cold water

Add salad dressing, seasoning and veges.  Toss well and refrigerate overnight if time allows. 

This is my most requested side dish in the summer.  

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Thank you @simplyfriends - I'm going to try this soon!

[Imaoldhippie]

@simplyfriends ............I make this spaghetti salad a lot.

I add things like black & green olives, cheese cubes or shreaded, mini pepperoni slices, small tomato's or larger tomato's quartered.

I also found that using pasta such as bowties or small shells makes it easier to eat.

I use a lot more of the Salad Supreme Seasoning and use zesty italian dressing.