Summery Tomato Cucumber Mint Salad

Summery Tomato Cucumber Mint Salad began with my propensity to get a bit ahead of myself. 

I’ve got herbs and tomatoes growing on the deck, but they are nowhere near ready to eat. Still, they put fresh salad with herbs on my mind and nothing could deter me from putting one together. 

Do you ever find yourself pushing the seasonal envelope? It’s a common problem for me.

Tell me it’s June and I march directly to summer recipes. Tell me it’s only the first week of the month and summer technically does not start until several weeks from now and I’ll give you a blank look. 

Of course, anticipating summer isn’t too difficult – or too crazy – when the weather cooperates and stores have all the fixings. I’m even willing to put on a light sweater in the morning and after dark. As long as I can begin to make my meals center on ripe produce and fragrant herbs.

Mind you, I’ve eaten my share of cooked kale and applesauce in the cold weather months leading up the spring thaw. But now, I’m all about fresh fruits and vegetables. 

This salad is simple and refreshing. Perfect on its own, it is also great as the base for tabouli. All that you need to turn it into tabouli is a bit more oil and vinegar and about 1/4 cup of fine bulgur wheat. Either plain or made into tabouli, make it a summer staple in your house. 

While I do provide ingredients and directions for this salad, it’s more of a template than a strict by-the-book recipe. 

Tips for Making Tomato Cucumber Mint Salad

• Keep it colorful – As the saying goes, we eat with our eyes as well as out stomachs. Using yellow as well as red tomatoes and leaving stripes of dark green skin on the cucumber make the salad more visually appealing. 
• Cut the vegetables any way you want – Dice them in tiny chunks or keep them larger. Hint – they taste the same. It all depends on what look you want and how you want to eat the salad – spoon or fork?
• Don’t skimp on the mint and parsley –  This salad is all about the way mint and parsley brighten the taste of the vegetables. So if you’re used to putting them on as garnish, buckle up. This salad puts them front and center.

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Tomato Cucumber Mint Salad

A simple and refreshing salad that puts mint and parsley front and center. Serve it "as is" or combine it with a small amount (no more than 1/4 cup) of fine bulgur to make a dynamite tabouli. 

Course Salad

Cuisine Middle Eastern

Prep Time 10 minutes

Total Time 10 minutes

Servings 2 people

Author Laura

Ingredients

• 6 ounces chopped tomatoes About 1 cup coarsely chopped
• 5-6 ounces chopped English cucumber About 1 cup cut into thin strips and chopped
• 1/4 cup finely chopped mint
• 1/4 cup finely chopped parsley
• 1 tablespoon finely diced red onion, sweet onion, or shallot ("Regular" yellow onion is too sharp.)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon unseasoned rice wine vinegar or white balsamic vinegar Use a colorless vinegar - not red wine or balsamic, which will dull the colors of the vegetables as the dish marinates.
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
• freshly ground pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. Gather all the ingredients.

   

2. Mix them together and refrigerate for at least 1 hour to give the salad time for the flavors to meld. Serve.