Easy Marinated Cucumber Salad
Pickling History
Back before refrigeration, when early settlers needed to preserve their food supply, they would extend the harvest of cucumbers and other vegetables by pickling them. Submerged in a vinegar and spice bath and set aside in a pickling crock to ferment, they yielded dill, bread and butter, and countless other old-school variations.
Marinated cucumbers are the new pickle
Today, few of us have the time to devote to such heritage pickles. But faced with a booming crop of garden cucumbers, we just might be able to make this Old Mill family recipe, Easy Marinated Cucumber Salad.
Marinated cucumber salads are the new pickle, a refresh of the stodgy classic, and they pick up summer suppers of roast chicken and potato salad. They slide easily on top of back-to-school sandwiches, adorn the charcuterie board, and they even taste great right from the bowl.
An easy cucumber salad
It’s important when making these quick marinated pickles — or salads — that you use the smallest, freshest cucumbers you can find because they’re naturally sweet and free of big seeds.
Feel free to change up this recipe, adding black pepper and fresh dill. Use our Cucumber White Balsamic Vinegar for the perfect flavor combination, and of course, sweeten to taste.
Spoon the salad onto plates with a slotted spoon, leaving the precious marinade in the bowl. That way you can slice up more cucumbers, onions, and tomatoes, add them to the bowl, tuck the salad in the fridge, and enjoy a repeat performance!
EASY MARINATED CUCUMBER SALAD
Ingredients
- 1 pound small, fresh pickling cucumbers (see Notes)
- 8 ounces grape tomatoes, red and yellow, halved (about 1 1/2 packed cups)
- 1/3 cup chopped red onion
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon celery seed
- 1/2 cup Balsamic Vinegar Cucumber (or white vinegar)
- 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Peel the cucumbers, remove any seeds, and chop them into 1/4- to 1/2-inch pieces. Place in a large bowl. Add the halved tomatoes and chopped onion. Set aside.
- Place the sugar, salt, and celery seed in a small bowl, and stir to combine. Pour in the vinegar and stir to dissolve the sugar. Whisk in the olive oil.
- Pour the marinade over the cucumber mixture and gently mix. Cover the bowl, and place in the refrigerator. Let marinate for 2 to 3 hours before serving. These quick pickles last 3 days in the refrigerator.
- The best cucumbers for turning into salads and pickles are small and tender, with few if any seeds, and are often called pickling or Kirby cucumbers. Some of these cucumbers are so tender, you can leave some of the peeling on them. For the vinegar, use a white or white wine vinegar, or use a white balsamic vinegar like The Old Mill's.