Simple cucumber salad with dill, onions, and oil and vinegar dressing (vinaigrette).
What salad can be more refreshing than a cucumber salad with dill and an oil and vinegar dressing? There is hardly any; at least, I cannot think of a more refreshing salad than a cucumber salad with lots of dill.
I have been eating this kind of cucumber salad with dill and onions all my life, and although I've seen this recipe under the name of German cucumber salad many times, I have to say that this particular cucumber salad could be a Romanian cucumber salad any time, my grandmother used to make it exactly the same way.
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How to make cucumber salad?
There is not really that much to say about making the cucumber salad with dill in an oil and vinegar dressing. The recipe is simple, quick, incredibly cheap, refreshing, delicious, and so on.
As far as I am concerned, the secret to a good cucumber salad lies in slicing the cucumbers as thinly as possible. My grandmother used to take extra time and patience in slicing her cucumbers very thinly. She didn't have a mandoline for cutting vegetables, you see, so the whole process would be a tad more laborious during that time.
Happily, I do own a mandoline (actually 3 of them...). I cannot say I use them very often, but they are priceless when it comes to slicing cucumbers, potatoes, and cabbage.
So, do use a mandoline to very thinly slice the cucumbers for the salad, or use a very good sharp knife and take the time to get the slices nice and thin.
After slicing the cucumbers with a mandoline, you will notice that they tend to stick together. That is not so bad. Try to get them a bit apart with your hands and mix the cucumbers with the onions, dill, and oil and vinegar dressing using your hands as well. This way, you will automatically take more care to separate the sticking slices.
Recipe ingredients
- Cucumbers: I usually use English cucumbers, the variety most commonly found here in Germany. You can make the salad with shorter cucumbers as well; in this case, use 2 or 3, depending on size.
- Onion: I often use red onions, but regular onions are fine as well.
- Dill: Fresh dill is best, but frozen is OK as well. Don't use dried dill; it really doesn't make any sense in this salad, dried dill is pretty bland, and the salad relies on the dill flavor.
- Vinegar: Red wine and white wine vinegar are both wonderful.
- Sugar: I use just about 1 teaspoon of sugar, but you can adjust the taste to your liking.
- Oil: I never use olive oil to make cucumber salad with dill; it would just not feel right to me. I use a neutral-tasting oil, either canola or a light-tasting sunflower oil. In the case of sunflower oil, there are differences in taste, so make sure you choose one that is not too overpowering.
How to make the vinaigrette?
No matter how good a creamy cucumber salad with sour cream is, I still prefer to make an oil and vinegar dressing for cucumber onion salad with dill; I think it keeps the whole affair fresher, and that is my favorite thing about cucumber salad.
If you would like to try another one of my standard salad dressings – a yogurt dressing – have a look at this post for How to Make a Basic Yogurt Dressing. I make that yogurt salad dressing at least twice a week.
Making the oil and vinegar dressing or vinaigrette for the cucumber salad with dill really takes 2 minutes tops.
- Place the vinegar, sugar, some salt, and pepper into a small bowl and whisk well to combine.
- Add the oil and whisk a little more until the oil and vinegar dressing emulsifies slightly.
- Pour over the cucumber salad in the bowl and stir well to coat the cucumber slices in the vinegar dressing. I prefer to use my hands when mixing the cucumber salad with its oil and vinegar dressing.
How to serve?
We always have the cucumber onion salad with dill, oil, and vinegar dressing as a side dish. I often make it when grilling in the garden and serve it alongside grilled meats or skewers.
We love the salad in combination with oven-roasted potatoes wedges for a vegetarian/vegan meal. It also makes a great accompaniment for skillet chicken breasts or chicken breast fritters. Not to mention that this cucumber salad with dill is the perfect side dish for any kind of schnitzel.
More salads
- Tomato Avocado Mozzarella Salad - Insalata Tricolore – Italian salad with ripe tomatoes, avocado, mozzarella slices, and basil with a simple olive oil and balsamic vinegar dressing.
- Shopska Salad - Shopska salad with tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, and feta, a fresh and delightful Bulgarian or Croatian salad.
- Simple White Cabbage Salad - this simple Romanian white cabbage salad is one of the best salad side dishes you can imagine.
- Strawberry Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing - amazing spinach strawberry feta salad with poppy seed dressing, a salad that celebrates spring.
- Roast Pumpkin Salad - this roast pumpkin salad with spinach and feta is perfect as a light meal or as a side dish.
Cucumber Salad with Dill
Ingredients
- 1 long English cucumber
- 1 small red or white onion
- 3 tablespoons chopped dill
- 2 tablespoons red or white wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sugar or more to taste
- 3 tablespoons neutral-tasting oil See note
- fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Slice the cucumber very thinly. Use a mandoline for best results. Place the cucumber slices in a bowl. Use your hands to unstick the slices that might stick together.
- Chop the onion very finely and add it to the bowl together with the dill.
- Make the vinaigrette: Place the vinegar, sugar, some salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Whisk to combine and add the oil. Whisk until the mixture emulsifies slightly.
- Combine: Pour the vinaigrette over the salad and combine, preferably with your hands, this way, you will be able to unstick even more cucumber slices and coat them nicely with the oil and vinegar dressing.
- Adjust the taste with more salt, pepper, and sugar if necessary.
Karen (Back Road Journal) says
I totally agree with you about this being a very refreshing salad. As you mentioned, it is especially good with schnitzel.