Nothing says summer quite like a cool, refreshing salad that comes together in minutes.
If you’re lucky enough to have a vegetable garden, using freshly picked tomatoes, cucumbers, and herbs makes this simple dish even better.
What isn’t wonderful about strolling out to the garden on a warm day, harvest basket in hand, and finding that perfectly ripe tomato and crisp cucumber? Then you make a pass through the herb garden to snip some beautiful parsley and chive.
Ah, the delights of summer. That’s what we call heaven at our house.
But back to the salad!
After giving the veggies and herbs a good rinse, just chop them up and add them to a large bowl.
We love using English cucumbers for this dish, as the seeds are small and you don’t need to peel them, but traditional field cucumbers are great, too. Just be sure to peel and seed them.
For the tomatoes, any variety will do. Cherry tomatoes are fantastic. We’re especially fond of the Super Sweet 100 variety, but we often do a mix of tomatoes. Just pick your favorites.
Adding a little sliced or chopped red onion adds a wonderful flavor boost, so toss some in if you like.
Then it’s time to mix a simple vinaigrette. This is the same one we use for our Crunchy Vegetable Salad: extra virgin olive oil, white balsamic vinegar, Dijon mustard, garlic, shallot, salt, and pepper. Add it to a lidded jar and give it a good shake to blend, or mix it with a whisk.
Want to make it even easier? Skip the Dijon, garlic, and shallot and just go with oil and vinegar, but be sure to season with salt and pepper.
Pour the vinaigrette over the cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, and herbs and gently toss to coat. Refrigerate the salad till you’re ready to serve it.
It’s light, flavorful, and super refreshing – bon appetit!
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Cucumber Tomato Salad
Ingredients
For the salad
- 1 large English cucumber, sliced or 2 field cucumbers, peeled, seeded, and sliced into half moon shapes
- 2 lbs. tomatoes, cut into large chunks
- ½ cup red onion, thinly sliced or chopped
- ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley and chive
For the vinaigrette
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup white balsamic vinegar
- 2 tsp. Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp. Italian seasoning
- 1 tbsp. minced shallots
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Add the tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion, and herbs to a bowl. Set aside.
- In a jar with a tight fitting lid, add the vinaigrette ingredients. Secure the lid and shake till well blended. No lid? No problem. Just whisk the ingredients together.
- Pour about half of the vinaigrette over the vegetables and herbs and toss gently to coat. Add more of the remaining vinaigrette, salt, and pepper, as desired.
- Refrigerate for a couple of hours, then serve.
Notes
- For an even simpler vinaigrette, stick to just oil and vinegar seasoned with salt and pepper.
- If you like a really tangy vinaigrette, try red wine vinegar in place of the white balsamic.