Cucumber-Tomato salad takes me back to my childhood days, and is something I love to eat all the summer-time. The simple, pure-Italian flavor is so good and refreshing. Pair this with a crusty bread, and a meal is served. In the heat of the summers growing up, when I was always spending time with my Italian family, we would pick freshness from the garden, and make a great big salad for lunch, because it was just too hot to cook.
I just finished planting a humble little garden in our backyard, and I am looking forward to finally making this salad with my very own grown-food. I’m hoping. The extra aroma and satisfaction that comes from your own fresh from the garden food is like no other. Farmers-markets is second best. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with fresh from the store, which is what I have always had to do and will continue to do since my garden could never yield enough for our family’s needs.
You can watch Nonna and I put this salad together in a YouTube video. She is so adorable. I love her voice! I love cooking alongside her! I do so much more of that now that she is retired, than I ever did growing up. Just being with her – especially talking and learning from her – is one of my all time joys. I feel like it’s important for me to write these recipes down so that I can share them and have them for later.
Italian Cucumber-Tomato Salad
Ingredients
- 4-5 cups cucumbers – peeled, cut
- 2-3 cups tomato – cut – typically cherry or grape
- 2-3 fresh cloves of garlic – sliced thin
- 1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt add an extra 1/2 teaspoon – always salt to taste
- 4-6 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon fresh-crushed dried oregano
Instructions
- Wash the cucumbers and tomatoes. Cut grape or cherry tomatoes in half. Keep the seeds. Remove the acidity from the cucumbers and peel, and cut. Keep all of the seeds. Place chopped fruit into a bowl.
- Slice garlic and sprinkle onto the top. Add salt. Pour over olive oil. Srinkle on hand-crushed dried oregano. Toss salad.
- Chill for 30 minutes before serving. Remove garlic pieces if you don't want to eat raw pieces. Serve with crusty bread to soak up all of the juices that are made while the salad marinates.
- Refrigerate left overs. A dressed-salad will soften over time so eating it within the day is best.
Video
In the video, I tell you all about removing acidity or the bitterness from cucumbers. Most cucumbers are bitter and I always check before I cut chop them. Simply clean them first. Then cut the “cap” or the top from the end where the stem was cut from the plant. Then, in a circular motion, use the cap to swipe the top of the cut cucumber several times to see if a white film comes up. You’re removing all of the bitterness. Cut off that part and peel and chop. Easy-breezy. I do this with every cucumber, just to make sure it’s good to go. Enjoy this salad! Buon appetito!
