Shaved Cucumber Salad
Deceptively simple, this shaved cucumber salad can be ready in minutes, and is the perfect ending to a hot summer day.
Because fresh produce is one of the best parts of summer, this recipe highlights all of that goodness: fresh cucumbers, red onion, cherry tomatoes, and asparagus all work together to give you a shaved cucumber salad that reminds you of summer afternoons, childhood, and all things good.
I used to sit outside on a lawn chair under the lilac tree. The tips of my toes would touch the cool green grass while the fragrance from the white lilacs would greet my nose. And I would read. I would immerse myself in worlds hundreds of years old, and get surprisingly lost in horse drawn carriages and petticoats and lamp light.
Several feet away, my mother would kneel, turning up soil, tending her garden. She would pick spent leaves, trim the branches, and then pull out weeds. She would work, I would read, and we both would lose track of time. Afternoons would fly by like this, until she realized that my dad would be coming home shortly and we had nothing ready for dinner.
Summer dinners would be simple out of necessity, because we would be short on time. She would gather the vegetables she had picked and make easy salads. Cucumbers dressed in nothing but rice vinegar, water and a pinch of sugar would be refreshing bites on those humid New York nights.
I thought of her as I shaved some cucumbers the other day. As a result, I decided to make my own version of her simple salad. Thinly sliced cucumbers and red onion looked so elegant dotted with tomatoes and asparagus. Each bite of this shaved cucumber salad was cool and refreshing, and certainly brought me back to my mother’s garden. I could almost smell the lilacs. And I could definitely taste summer.
It’s time for my second Wedding Registry Kitchen Must-Have Giveaway! I’m constantly trying out recipes, so from purees to soups, thin slices to pastry doughs, I am constantly reaching for my Cuisinart 14-Cup Food Processor. I’ve already mentioned how awesome it is – and I’m so excited to be able to share one with one of you!
Wedding Registry Kitchen Must-Have Giveaway:
Cuisinart Custom 14-Cup Food Processor Giveaway
This giveaway is now closed. Congratulations to Rebecca L. on winning an awesome Cuisinart Custom 14-Cup Food Processor!
Ready to enter? Here’s how:
- Please leave a comment below and feel free to share: What will you tackle with this food processor?
- Bonus entry: Share this page on Facebook and leave another comment saying so.
- Entries/Comments accepted until 10 pm Pacific, Sunday, 12 August, 2012.
- One winner will be randomly selected and notified by email.
- This contest is open to US residents only, my apologies to my international friends!
Disclosure: In celebration of their newly launched Wedding Registry, Wayfair is generously sponsoring this giveaway by giving one winner a Cuisinart Custom 14-Cup Food Processor. I am grateful to their support and for making this giveaway possible. The author was not compensated for this post/giveaway, and all opinions are strictly my own.
More Summer Salads
Berry Jicama Salad
Summer Lentil Salad
Tomato, Corn and Nectarine Chickpea Salad
Summer Wheat Berry Salad with Stone Fruits and Goat Cheese
Podcast Episodes on Fresh Produce
Listen to my conversation with Nick Brown (Rincon Tropics) on growing “no frills good fruit”
My conversation with Chris Drew (Ocean Mist Farms) on all things artichokes
Learn about blueberry farms from my converstaion with Kimberly Sorensen (Triple Delight Blueberries)
Shaved Cucumber Salad
Ingredients
- 1 English cucumber
- 1 small red onion
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes
- 4 stalks asparagus
- 1/4 cup rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
Instructions
- Trim both ends of cucumber. Cut in half and slice in thin strips, using either a food processor or mandolin. You can also slice it crosswise, and a knife will work just fine. Do the same with red onion.
- Cut the tomatoes in half, and cut the asparagus in 1 inch pieces on the diagonal.
- Place all the vegetables in a bowl. In a separate bowl, mix the vinegar, water and sugar. Pour over the vegetables and toss.
- Allow to sit for at least 10 minutes to take in the flavor. Arrange on a platter to serve.
Nutrition
Comments
COOKBOOK
I would chop veggies for soup this fall.
I would make pie crust.
I’d love to do zucchini to make a pasta dish !
I would use it to make pie crust dough, which is so much faster with a food processor.
shared on facebook-thanks!
I would LOVE to make pesto! Thanks for the chance.
Shared on Facebook!
Pesto and hummus! My food processor bowl has been broken for years, would love to replace it :)
That a simply stunning presentation. Pinning!
I would make some homemade pesto.
I would make some delicious slaw
I never got a food processor, and I’ve always wanted one. I’d make sauces, slaw, desserts…so many things! I love this post about the memories of your mother– really lovely.
I will use
this beautiful machine to make pies, casseroles, can vegetables, the possibilities are endless!
I would make pesto and this cucumber salad looks so refreshing! Love cucumbers – this has got to be on the list.
Hummus and pesto and salsa and dressings! Really, the possibilities are endless!
Salad looks lovely! I would make salsa with tomatoes from the garden.
I would be able to get my cucumbers chopped up for relish if I had this awesome processor!!!
pesto!!
Pesto, pest, and more pesto. It’s that time of year again. My Cuisinart food processor is 24 years old. I would love to have a new one. Thanks for such a great giveaway.
Gorgeous salad, Liren! As for the food processor, I’d make a pie :).
With that capacity, I would imagine I could make lots of pie crusts and pie fillings !
I shared on Facebook!
I’d make baby food!
I would make various pestos with all the herbs growing like wild in my garden!
There are few things more refreshing than cucumber salad… and with this heat, I eat a few bowls every day.
Can’t say enough about my love for food processors. This looks like a fabulous one!
Shared on Facebook
I would make bruschetta
Shared on facebook!
I would use it to make vodka pasta sauce.
Fabulous giveaway! I would make pesto in bulk in that shiny new food processor.