Cucumber Tomato Salad with Italian French dressing

Cucumber Tomato Salad with BEST EVER Italian French dressing is the proper aspect dish for any summer time meal! Fast, contemporary, and scrumptious.

Popping in at present with a PSA that the recipe for Cucumber Tomato Salad with BEST EVER Italian French dressing exists, and you have to be making it as typically as doable earlier than the solar units on summer time, and the contemporary tomato, cucumber, and basil bounty that comes together with it!

For nearly each single dinner rising up my Mother made an iceberg lettuce salad (inform me you grew up within the 80s with out telling me you grew up within the 80s.) As soon as summer time rolled round although, she’d swap a head of iceberg for this contemporary aspect dish recipe made with the cucumbers, tomatoes, and basil she grew in her backyard.

We ate it with dinner 3-4 nights per week and I’m completely happy to report the custom is alive and properly within the right here and now. I serve this gorgeous but easy aspect dish to my crew a number of instances per week within the summertime.

It’s a contemporary and wholesome option to costume up any ho hum dinner!

Raid your backyard or the Farmer’s Marketplace for contemporary, native cucumbers, tomatoes, and basil then chop them up, toss right into a bowl, and drizzle with a beneficiant quantity of my BEST EVER Italian French dressing. It’s so simple as that.

Gwen calls this “Mama Dressing” by the way in which, which makes me so completely happy I might cry. I additionally haven’t any disgrace in telling you that I eat my bowl of Cucumber Tomato Salad with a spoon so I can savor each final drop of the dressing blended with the juices from the tomatoes.

MMM!!!

Cucumber Tomato Salad Dressing

You possibly can after all use store-bought dressing for this Cucumber Tomato Salad recipe, however my home made Italian French dressing is a stunner, and tremendous simple to whip up.

Reader Trish says: “I’m completely loving this dressing. My life feels oddly incomplete if I don’t have a batch already blended within the fridge and awaiting my subsequent salad. ”

#RELATABLE! Be happy to make this French dressing as much as two weeks forward of time. Right here’s what you’ll want:

• Impartial tasting oil: I like to recommend avocado, grapeseed, or canola oil for the French dressing, versus further virgin olive oil, which may overpower the opposite components.
• White wine vinegar or Crimson wine vinegar: both choice supplies a pleasant, sharp tang to the French dressing.
• Apple cider vinegar: cider vinegar is a bit more gentle than purple wine vinegar and provides a pleasant, puckery taste.
• Dijon mustard: this helps emulsify the French dressing.
• Minced shallot: shallots add a gentle onion taste to the dressing.
• Contemporary garlic: I LOVE the trace of garlicky taste finely minced contemporary garlic provides to this dressing!
• Honey: helps to steadiness out all of the flavors. You possibly can use actual maple syrup or granulated sugar to maintain this dressing and aspect dish vegan.
• Dried herbs and seasonings: salt, pepper, dried oregano, and dried marjoram add a lot of craveable taste.

Selecting Your Tomatoes and Cucumbers

Principally I take advantage of an everyday cucumber and vine-ripened tomatoes to make this salad, however be happy to make use of no matter you want greatest.

• Cucumber choices: If utilizing an everyday cucumber, peel, slice, then seed the cucumber earlier than chopping. If utilizing an English cucumber (like in these photographs) there’s no must peel or seed earlier than slicing or chopping. You possibly can slice Persian cucumbers (the little mini cukes!) into cash. Once more, no must peel first.
• Tomato choices: Vine ripened tomatoes are nice on this recipe, and I prefer to seed these first. Different scrumptious choices are roma tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, grape tomatoes, or heirloom tomatoes.

Facet Dish for Easy Dinners

In the summertime I are inclined to make much less “recipes” for dinner – that means I grill or saute a protein, or make spaghetti — so having a easy aspect dish stuffed with veggies I don’t should assume too laborious about is all the time good to have in my again pocket. I do know you’ll love this dish for the very same cause. 🙂

The best way to Make this Recipe

Begin by making the Greatest Ever Italian French dressing. Belief me once I let you know that these things is best than something you’ll discover on the retailer!

To a mason jar or small bowl add the dressing components: oil, vinegars, Dijon mustard, minced shallot and garlic, honey, and dried herbs and seasonings. Shake or whisk to mix.

I prefer to make the French dressing not less than a few hours earlier than consuming so the flavors have time to meld, although it is going to preserve properly in your fridge for as much as 2 weeks.

Subsequent, peel, seed, and cube an everyday cucumber, after which seed and chop vine-ripened tomatoes and add to a big bowl. Tear or thinly slice (aka chiffonade) contemporary basil leaves and add to the bowl as properly. Right here’s methods to chiffonade contemporary basil leaves:

1. Nest basil leaves into one another to type a “boat”
2. Roll the leaves right into a cigar form
3. Thinly slice

Remodel this Salad

As written, my Cucumber Tomato Salad is straightforward, unfussy, contemporary, and flavorful. That mentioned, it makes an amazing base to be added to or enhanced. Attempt any of those tasty concepts:

• Add mini mozzarella balls (additionally known as “pearls”)
• Add a diced avocado
• Use contemporary herbs like chives or contemporary dill as a substitute of/or along with basil
• Give it a Mediterranean spin by including kalamata olives and crumbled or cubed feta cheese
• Add toasted bread cubes (right here’s methods to make them!) to make Panzanella salad
• Add thinly sliced purple onions to make a Cucumber Tomato Onion Salad

Final step is to pour the Italian French dressing over the tomato-cucumber salad, season with somewhat extra salt and pepper to style, then scoop, serve, and devour. I hope you’re keen on this contemporary and summery aspect dish – take pleasure in!

Extra Summery Salad Recipes

Cucumber Tomato Salad with BEST EVER Italian French dressing

Description

Cucumber Tomato Salad with BEST EVER Italian French dressing is the proper aspect dish for any summer time meal! Fast, contemporary, and scrumptious.

Substances

• 2 cucumbers, peeled, seeded and chopped
• 4 vine-ripened tomatoes, seeded and chopped
• handful contemporary basil, torn or sliced
• For the Italian French dressing:
  • scant 1 cup neutral-tasting oil like avocado, grapeseed, or canola oil (don’t suggest EVOO)
  • 1/4 cup purple wine or white wine vinegar
  • 2 Tablespoons apple cider vinager
  • 2 Tablespoons minced shallot OR 1 teaspoon dried minced onions
  • 1 clove garlic, pressed or finely minced
  • 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
  • 1 teaspoon honey
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried marjoram

Instructions

1. For the Italian French dressing: Mix all components in a jar with a decent becoming lid or a small mixing bowl then shake or whisk to mix. Could be made as much as 2 weeks forward of time.
2. Add cucumbers, tomatoes, and basil to a big serving bowl then drizzle with Italian French dressing, season with further salt and pepper, and serve.

Notes

• Be happy to make use of an English cucumber – no must peel or seed first.
• Romas are nice on this salad too – use what’s in season, rising in your backyard, and/or seems nice on the Farmer’s Market.

French dressing tailored from The Kitchn

This recipe is courtesy of Iowa Woman Eats, http://iowagirleats.com.