Throughout the season, like most folks, our veggie choices shift and change. In the spring and fall, when lettuce and spinach are coming out of the garden like gang-busters, we eat a ton of side salads. But come the heat of summer, we have to get our veggies in without the help of lettuce. Sure, we could easily pop over to the store and grab a bag of romaine, but it seems silly to buy lettuce when so many great veggies are coming off in the garden. So green salads go by the wayside and we instead focus on ways to use up the pounds and pounds of cucumbers and tomatoes we are harvesting everyday.
This simple salad is actually probably way too simple to be called a recipe, but considering we’ve eaten this at pretty much every dinner for the past month, I figured it was probably time I shared it with you.
Like most simple recipes, the key to making this insanely flavorful is getting your hand on really great ingredients. I wouldn’t recommend making this in the middle of winter with hothouse tomatoes and cucumbers—you’ll be disappointed. This is definitely a summer-only recipe. Here, I’m using various heirloom tomatoes we’re growing, but any fresh tomatoes would do the trick, we’re just using heirlooms because I’m, honestly, a little bit obsessed with growing weird tomatoes. Hi, my name is Cass, and I’m currently growing 40 different tomato plants. I have a problem.
As far as the cucumbers go, I’m using a mix of regular, ole picking cucumbers and Armenian cucumbers here. Armenian cucumbers are quite possibly my favorite discovery of the 2013 growing season. They are huge. HUGE. One of them can last us for two or three meals. They are incredibly crispy, firm and just the best eating cucumbers I’ve ever had. These guys are made for cutting into slices and dipping in hummus. Craig even sliced some of these thin and grilled them up for dinner the other day, and they grilled beautifully. If you can’t get your hands on some of these beauties, English cucumbers or even just small pickling cucumbers will work great in this salad, too. You’re looking for cucumbers without a ton of huge seeds. And you definitely don’t want any cucumbers that have been on the plant too long and went bitter.
As with most simple recipes, this one is infinitely adaptable. We eat it “straight up” a lot as a side for dinner, but I love turning it into a panzanella for lunch, too. I just tear apart some hunks of crunchy bread to mix in with the cucumbers and tomatoes. The tomato juices, olive oil and vinegar soak into the bread. Mmm, so yummy! If I’m feeling particularly crazy, I’ll add some sliced black olives and shaved parm. Living on the edge. This would also make a rockin’ base for a cucumber caprese. Go heavy on the basil and toss in some fresh mozzarella balls. Yum!
Feel free to play around with the mix of herbs, I like this combo mostly because it’s delicious but also because these are what are growing in the pots out on our back deck. Convenient! Use whatever you have kicking around. It’s hard to go wrong with a big bunch of fresh herbs, regardless of what kind they are.
Enjoy!
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Herbed Cucumber and Tomato Salad
by
Prep Time: 5 minutes | Cook Time: None | Makes: 4 servings
Ingredients
- 1 large cucumber, cut into bite-sized chunks
- 3 medium tomatoes, cut into bite-sized chunks
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
- 1/2 cup mixed minced fresh herbs (I like parsley, basil, sage and oregano)
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- In a large bowl, toss together the cucumbers, tomatoes, olive oil and vinegar. Add in the herbs, salt and pepper and toss until evenly-distributed. Serve immediately.
Nutritional Info
Serving Size: About 1/2 cup | Servings Per Recipe: About 4
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What’s your favorite way to use up extra tomatoes and cucumbers?
MY OTHER RECIPES
I love making a tomato and cucumber salad with some feta and a vinaigrette!
yumm…I’m with Lauren, definitely throw some feta in there if you have no mozzarella on hand.
I had this salad for the first time in Ukraine of all places. It changed my life. 🙂
Cucumber and tomato salad is one of my favorite things. This looks amazing!
I was already planning on making a tomato and cucumber salad tonight for dinner since we got bunch of both in the CSA last night but I love the idea of sage as an herb. Thanks for the great idea!
I love fresh summer salads like this, the herbs sound beautiful. I need more tomatoes…
We just started getting cucumbers out of the garden two days ago! I’m growing Edmonson’s — they are blocky 4″ white/yellow cucumbers that are super mild. Loving them! I’ll have to try the Armenian ones next year!
Cucumbers and/or tomatoes with raw onion in yogurt or sour cream. It’s one of those combinations that shows up in totally unrelated cuisines: Indian, Eastern European, Mediterranian, and it was also a favorite of my Grammy who was none of the above. Some combinations just work.
I like variations on the theme. I’ve added just a bit of Stevia. I have added Avacado. Also I have added greek yogurt for a slight creaminess. Any combination of them just top mix it up.