Our summers are getting longer and hotter. No climate to spend hours in an overheated kitchen. So this is where a refreshing cucumber salad with radish comes into the picture. As it is ready in 15 minutes, it is really not a big work. And it contains what you need on hot summer days: vitamins and moisture. Perfect as a side with a BBQ! But you can have it also as a light lunch with a baguette. And maybe even a cool glass of white wine.
How to prepare a refreshing cucumber salad with radish
Only six ingredients and a little bit of cutting. You understand immediately that this refreshing cucumber salad with radish is ready in no time. Take 15 minutes as a benchmark. It might even be less if you are experienced. The reading almost takes longer than the executing.
Preparing the vegetables
The first step is always the "mise en place". In this case this means cutting the vegetables.
We start with the cucumber, as this is the protagonist in our salad. We first rinse it well, and then we cut off the ends. You can cut it in half lengthwise if you want. In that case you get half moons. In this version, we went for the full moon. Then we cut the cucumber into thin slices about half a centimeter thick. Here too you can vary according to your own taste.
Next we take care of our red and white radishes. We first cut off the leaves and the roots. Then we wash the radishes so that no sand or other residues stick to them. Following we halve the radishes and cut them into thin slices as well. Since we halved them, they are more like half moons. Here too you can opt for an alternative full moon and not halve them.
By the way, did you know that you can also use the radish leaves in different recipes? You may learn more about that in the article mashed potatoes with radish green.
Finally, we still have to finely chop the shallot. We first remove the skin. Then we finely chop this shallot.
Now we place the cucumber, the radishes and the shallot in a larger bowl. You can already mix them. Now we only need to add the sauce.
Making the sauce to finish the salad
Now we only have to make the sauce, and also here we have three ingredients: mayonnaise, Greek yogurt and mustard.
We put them in a small bowl and mix them well until they are well integrated. Then we add it to the vegetables. And next we mix everything to finalize our refreshing cucumber salad with radish.
You can serve this salad immediately. Or you can prepare it well in advance. In that case, it is best to cover the salad with cling film before you put it in the refrigerator. So you make sure that the vegetables stay fresh.
You can also make the salad with only mayonnaise. In that case, double the tablespoons of mayonnaise to two. But personally I prefer the half and half mixture with (Greek) yogurt. That just makes the salad fresher and lighter, and in the summer I prefer light meals.
A cucumber is mostly referred to as a vegetable. But botanically it is a fruit as it grows from the flowers of the cucumber plant. Similar cases are tomatoes, zucchini, eggplants and bell peppers.
Cucumbers belong to the same family as for example melons and zucchini. But unlike the latter one it grows vertically. Which is much easier for harvesting, believe me! Most often a cucumber is eaten fresh in a salad. But you can also stew or bake them.
Cucumbers are best kept in a cool place, but not in the refrigerator. Then they loose their freshness quite quickly. You often see cucumbers wrapped in plastic. Then they stay fresh longer. But that of course increases the plastic mountain...
A cucumber is absolutely healthy. It contains a lot of moisture, which is very important during hot summer days. In addition, it contains few calories.
Learn more about cucumber in the following articles:
- Cucumber - Wikipedia.
- Are cucumbers a fruit or a vegetable? (Eating well).
- 6 health benefits of cucumbers (Cleveland clinic).
Cucumbers can be so refreshing in summer. They contain a lot of moisture. Just what you need on those extremely hot summer days. So you might find some more inspiring recipes with cucumbers here:
- Hot smoked salmon with cucumber and apple.
- Easy and refreshing Greek tzatziki.
- Cucumber boat with shrimps.
- Boursin bites with smoked salmon.
- Salmon-brie bites.
- Walnut brie bites.
Radishes are another vegetable that we are in love with. They have a slightly spicy bitter taste. But you can integrate them perfectly in a lot of recipes to give the right flavor. And did you know that you can also fry them?
If you speak Dutch, you can find the Dutch version of this recipe on gerechtenweb.blog.