Crisp and juicy.
Late summer 2021 found me spinning dosas and plating dips in an NYC restaurant. Each day before I service I made labneh, folding rich olive oil and fine cut shallot into Greek yogurt with a hefty dose of salt. I cut crudite, slicing Persian cucumbers lengthwise and then widthwise on a bias to create perfect diagonal spears.
Sometimes there was cut cucumber left from the night before. Once I remember I showed a full quart to my sous chef, hoping he would let me use them so I didn’t have to cut fresh.
“What do you think?” Lee fished a cucumber spear out of the quart and held it up.
“Looks okay to me,” I said. It wasn’t discolored or bruised.
Lee ran a finger along one of the cut sides, where the bed of seeds was beginning to turn translucent, gelatinous. “See that?” He bit off the end of the cucumber spear and chewed. “The point of a summer cucumber is that it’s fresh and juicy. If it’s not, what’s the point.”
He dropped the remainder of his spear into the trash and walked away.
Every time I eat a cucumber, I appreciate how beautifully fresh and juicy it is. That was the inspiration for this salad.
Crisp, fresh-cut cucumbers scattered over thick cool yogurt, sprinkled with torn mint and dusted with sumac. The crunchy cucumber contrasts deliciously with the smooth creaminess of the dip, while thinly sliced shallots add an occasional bite and the sumac brings pops of tang. Cool, crisp, and refreshing, this salad is everything I want on a hot summer day.
This salad is a celebration of cucumber, so use the best Persian cucumbers you can find—plump and juicy with shiny ribbed dark green skin—and slice them cleanly and beautifully as close to serving as possible. If it’s not fresh, what’s the point?
Enjoy!
Cucumber and Yogurt Salad with Sumac
(Serves 4)
4 Persian cucumbers
1 cup Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus additional
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
½ shallot, halved and thinly sliced crosswise
1/8 teaspoon sumac
2 tablespoons fresh mint leaves
Method
Cut Persian cucumbers in half lengthwise, then cut each halved cucumber in half widthwise on a diagonal.
In a small bowl, stir together Greek yogurt, 2 tablespoons olive oil, lemon juice, and ¾ teaspoon kosher salt.
Spread yogurt into the center of a plate and drizzle with additional olive oil. Arrange cucumber and shallots on top and sprinkle with sumac and remaining ¼ teaspoon kosher salt. Scatter mint leaves over top.
Originally posted June 21, 2022.
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