I know I either had this salad or read about it somewhere. I could have even daydreamed about it while lying on the sofa, searching my memory for dinner ideas. I’m not quite sure.
You see, this is the kind of salad you’d swear you’ve had already because its flavors are so familiar, yet can’t pinpoint when or where.
Fresh cucumber, extra virgin olive oil, yogurt, lemon juice, thyme. So simple, so tangy, so refreshing.
A very unassuming salad that evokes the Mediterranean countryside and tastes like something you’d have at a roadside restaurant in a village in Greece, Turkey, Syria, or Morocco where food is so wonderfully basic you can taste each ingredient separately, know the recipe without even asking.
We ate this salad with charred lamb kebabs and a few torn pieces of flatbread.
We washed it down with glasses of mint tea and finished the meal with slices of juicy, ripe watermelon.
Whatever you choose to have it with, enjoy.
Cucumber Slaw with Thyme Yogurt Dressing
4 servings
- 1 large cucumber
- 1/4 cup plain yogurt, preferably Greek-style
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- Sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
For garnish
- Pine nuts or diced tomatoes
Coarsely grate the cucumber into a bowl. Drain the cucumber to remove excess juices. Place it back in the bowl.
In a small bowl, whisk together the yogurt, olive oil, lemon juice, mayonnaise, thyme, salt and pepper until creamy.
Add the dressing to the cucumber and toss well.
Plate the cucumber salad and top it with pine nuts or chopped tomatoes.
