Middle Eastern Cucumber & Tomato Salad

By KatKD

Throughout much of the Middle East, “lettuceless” salads are tremendously popular. They’re crunchy, colorful, and delicious! This is a great salad to make this time of year, when tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers are at their freshest locally; it’s light, cooling, and terrific for summer.


Persian cucumbers, which are long and relatively skinny, are wonderful to use if you can find them. I love the simplicity and refreshing quality of the dressing. To complete the Middle Eastern theme, you might want to serve this with shish kababs, a nice rice pilaf, and lavash or pita bread. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 4 cups peeled cucumbers, cut in 1/2-inch chunks
• 4 cups riped tomatoes, cut in 1/2-inch chunks
• 1 large red or green bell pepper, cut in 1/2-inch chunks
• 3 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped (optional)
• 3 tablespoons fresh mint, chopped (optional)
• 1 cup crumbled or cubed feta cheese (optional)
• 1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives (optional)
• 2 scallions, cut in 1/4-inch slices (optional)
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Details

Servings 4
Adapted from magicalmeltingpot.com

Preparation

Step 1

1) Chop the fresh vegetables as described above and place in a large salad bowl or glass bowl. Refrigerate until ready to serve so the salad will be nice and cold. If adding olives, feta, herbs, and/or green onion, sprinkle them evenly over the salad.

2) Mix the oil and vinegar, salt, and pepper in a small bowl and set aside until ready to serve.

3) Pour the dressing over the vegetables, toss.

4) Taste for salt, pepper, quantity and balance of the dressing. Add more of any of the dressing ingredients if you like.