My Grandma's 4-Ingredient Cucumber Salad Is Embarrassingly Simple
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She says, "It's the easiest thing you can imagine."
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My grandmother is many things—loving, funny, resilient, 100 years old (!)—but an amazing cook she is not. I've written my nana several times, so eagle-eyed readers may recognize her as the grandma who's not above heat-and-eat sides and whose daily breakfast involves complicated steps such as toasting a bagel. Unlike many Allrecipes readers, I did not grow up with intricate pies and comforting casseroles gracing every visit to Grandma's.Instead, her best dishes were a peek into her own childhood in Vienna, Austria. From Wiener Schnitzel to paprika-laced Goulash, her Austrian staples will be familiar to anyone who grew up with Eastern European parents or grandparents.But there is one dish no meal at Nana's would be complete without: cucumber salad. And to this day, it's the one thing I beg her to make whenever I come over—though truthfully, I really don't have to because there's almost always a batch of it in her fridge.How to Make My Grandma's Easy Cucumber SaladWe have many styles of cucumber salads on Allrecipes, but my grandma's is a Viennese-style cucumber salad with super thin cucumber slices and lots of vinegar. It's acidic and tangy and the perfect side to heavier main dishes or as a snack on a hot summer day. And I cannot stress how easy it is to make; in my nana's words, "It's the easiest thing you can imagine."It starts with cucumbers; my grandma buys whatever they have, but I go with the seedless English variety or smaller Persian cucumbers so I don't have to scoop out the seeds. Then, you have the choice to peel your cucumbers or not. If you're using conventional cukes, you may want to peel, as the skin can be bitter. When I use English cucumbers, I like to score the outside with a fork to get a great striped pattern on the edge of the slices.Slice the cucumbers as thin as you can. You can do this by hand or by using a mandoline to (carefully) speed up the process. Next comes a crucial step: salting the cucumbers. Sprinkling the cucumbers with salt and then letting them sit draws out excess moisture and helps the cucumbers better absorb their eventual marinade or dressing. It also makes the cucumbers have a more pleasant texture, too.Let them sit in the fridge for anywhere from 20 to 30 minutes to a few hours. I like to place them in a colander over a bowl so the excess water drips into the bowl below. Then give them a quick rinse in cold water and dress them. My grandma's dressing is similar to our most popular cucumber salad, only simpler.It's just white vinegar, a little bit of sugar, and a little olive oil—that's it. My nana likes things super vinegary, so she goes heavy on the vinegar, only adding a little water to dilute it (if she even dilutes it at all). For the rest of us, I'd recommend a ratio of two parts vinegar to one part water. You can also adjust the sugar to your taste; a pinch or two is typically enough.Now when I make it for myself, I like to add dill (fresh or dried) or even some caraway seeds for a pop of refreshing, herbaceous flavor. But if you're a purist like my nana, four ingredients is all it takes. If she's serving it to company, she likes to garnish with a sprinkle of sweet paprika for color.
Courtney Kassel/Allrecipes' title='a bowl of my grandma's cucumber salad with paprika on top '>
Courtney Kassel/Allrecipes
While many cucumber salads will require you to cook the dressing over the stove to let the sugar dissolve, my grandma says it's not necessary. Just pour it over and let it sit in the fridge for at least an hour before digging in. I like to let it sit for at least a few, so the cucumbers become lightly pickled.The best part of this salad is the texture. If watery cucumber salads have turned you off of them, I urge you to try this one. Slicing the cucumbers thin makes them almost melt into each other, like ribbons of pickled cucumber goodness. They have the perfect balance of crunch and bite, and the acidic brightness of vinegar is ideal alongside barbecue and other grilled meats. Paired with the fact that it's a no-cook side that comes together in minutes, this cucumber salad is perfect for hot summer days when you just can't be bothered to cook. Read the original article on All Recipes.
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