As a foodie, one of my favorite things about the summer months is preparing meals with the freshest fare found at my local farmer’s market or grown from my daughter’s garden. In my opinion, there is no better way to savor the flavors of the season than by eating food that makes me feel as good as it tastes. 

My Cucumber Tomato Salad is just that – it uses summer’s best and most popular produce, which is often the same items you find yourself having too much of or are looking for interesting new ways to eat!

I serve this salad as a light and healthy side to accompany grilled steak, kebobs, hotdogs, or burgers. It’s also great when paired alongside my Spinach Tomato Orzo recipe and can easily be doubled to use up any extra tomatoes or cucumbers you have lying around 🙂

Cucumber Tomato Salad

Serves: 6-8 (as a side)

Prep time: < 15 minutes 

Ingredients:

For the dressing:

• ¼ cup of EVOO
• 1/8 cup of red wine vinegar
• 4 garlic cloves 
• ½ TBSP salt and ¼ tsp pepper 

For the salad:

• 1 English cucumber* about 10”-12” in length, sliced into half moons 
• 6 vine-ripened, heirloom or other garden varietal tomato (each tomato the size of a tennis ball), chopped into 1-inch pieces
• ½ of a small red onion, thinly sliced or roughly chopped (whichever you prefer)
• Fresh herbs such as basil, parsley, cilantro, oregano, thyme, or any combination (I like a handful of fresh basil torn, roughly chopped or sliced into ribbons mixed with chopped fresh parsley) 
• Salt and pepper 

Let’s do this!

1. In a small bowl, prepare the dressing by whisking together all the ingredients. Set aside.
2. Wash and chop cucumber, red onion, and fresh herbs. Add to a large bowl and stir to combine. 
3. Wash and chop the tomatoes (you can remove the seeds if you like; this can help prevent the salad from becoming too wet). Season with a sprinkling of salt and pepper then add to the salad bowl. Gently combine the tomatoes with the other fresh ingredients. 
4. Pour the dressing over the salad and gently stir to coat the contents of the salad.
5. Serve immediately or refrigerate for up to 2 days.**
6. Enjoy!

*You can also use a standard garden cucumber with the skin on or off.

**This salad is best refrigerated and eaten within 2 days. I personally think it tastes the best after it’s refrigerated for a few hours.