Around about this time of year, friends with gardens and local farms start to regret their choice of planting that much summer squash or cucumber. I have a small kitchen garden on our front porch, so do not have that problem personally, but I do belong to a family farm club where you join a facebook event on a Friday, then go to the farm on Tuesday and pick up your “Mystery Bag” o’ goodies. It’s a great deal, but I was beginning to feel my gardener friends’ issues with the summer squash and the cucumbers. Until I made up this recipe…
(with a little help and guidance from other cucumber salad makers on the interwebs).
INGREDIENTS
•1 cup English or pickling cucumber, quartered and sliced*
•1 cup summer squash,
quartered and thinly sliced
•1-1/2 cup thinly sliced sweet onion
•3/4 cup grape tomatoes, quartered
•2 tbsp freshly chopped parsley
•1/2 tsp sea salt
•1/2 tsp Aleppo pepper
•1/2 tsp black pepper
•1 tbsp rice vinegar
•1 tbsp olive oil
*If your garden or farm stand is giving you regular cucumbers, you might want to seed them first.
Arrange the veggies in a large bowl, then add the parsley and the seasonings.
Drizzle on the rice vinegar and olive oil, then toss to combine.
Let the salad rest for ten minutes or so before serving.
Note: you can easily double or triple the amounts called for with this salad, to suit the number of folk you’re feeding. This was more than enough for the two of us for dinner, and for me for lunch the next day.
Still have too much summer squash and/or zucchini? Might I suggest summer squash carpaccio?