Cucumber and Dill Summer Salad

This salad is perfect for summer.  On a hot day this cool, crisp, and bright salad will be a refreshing addition to any meal.

I was inspired to make this salad when I was shopping at the farmer’s market. The cucumbers were solid, the herbs were fragrant, and lemons are always a good idea! The addition of lemon pepper to this simple salad adds a slight savory bite that balances out the tangy fresh lemon juice.  Cucumbers are perfect for warm weather because they are very refreshing.  Lastly, I love using dill in this recipe (a recommended combination by the farmer I bought the produce from) because it’s herbaceous and earthy flavor adds so much depth to the salad. I find that most people don’t use dill very much, because they are either scared to try it or don’t really know the best ways to use it.  I happen to love dill! It can be a stronger flavor, but in this salad it’s a perfect addition to compliment all of the other ingredients.

This salad can be made a few hours in advance and the flavors will all marry even more! It’s a very free form recipe that allows you to add more of what you like and less of what you don’t. It’s summertime, so there are no rules!

Cucumber and Dill Summer Salad

Author:

Maria Provenzano

Ingredients

• 1 large (or 2 small) cucumber

• 1-2 tablespoons fresh dill; chopped

• 1-2 lemons

• 1/2 teaspoons lemon pepper; adding more to taste

Instructions

1. *Slice the cucumber into this slices and place into a large bowl; I like using a shallow bowl if possible to make sure all of the cucumber gets covered by the rest of the ingredients

2. *Sprinkle some of the lemon pepper onto the cucumber

3. *Squeeze the juice from one of the lemons onto the cucumber

4. *Toss in 1 tablespoon of dill

5. *Taste and adjust as needed; I like adding more of everything, but this is a good place to start from!

6. *Another great addition to this would be avocado!