Tomato and Cucumber Summer Salad

Summer has arrived in Brooklyn, and, inspired by the lovely weather, I purchased about a zillion vegetables this weekend with the intent of cooking all weekend and having leftovers all week.  I’m one recipe in so far, and I think I may have accidentally purchased enough veggies to feed five people for a week – but, ah, well.  On the up side, I’ll have a lot of healthy options to choose from this week!

This recipe was inspired by the side salad served at one of my favorite Pakistani restaurants in Brooklyn; I have no idea what’s in it, but I know it’s cucumber and tomato based, so I took a whack at creating something like it.  It’s not quite a recreation of the salad from the restaurant, but it turned out quite well, so I thought I’d share the recipe – it’s perfect for a hot summer day (and apparently feeds a crowd)!

Tomato and Cucumber Summer Salad

Ingredients:

• 3 medium-sized tomatoes
• 4 small Persian cucumbers
• 2 slices of a large purple onion
• 7 radishes
• 2 slices of a medium-sized lemon
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp thyme
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)

Directions:

1. Slice and dice the tomatoes, cucumbers, radishes, and 2 slices of purple onion, and mix together in a large serving bowl
2. Squeeze all the juice from 2 slices of lemon evenly over the salad.  (I estimate this is about 2 tsp of lemon juice.)
3. Add olive oil, oregano, and thyme – mix thoroughly.
4. If you’d like to give it a little bit of extra kick, add a bit of cayenne pepper as well!
5. Serve chilled.

What I Love About This Recipe:

• This is a great (and surprisingly filling) summer salad, perfect for light lunches and potlucks.
• It’s also quite versatile – it can be served in large portions as a vegetarian meal on its own, or in smaller portions as a side salad with a main course (I recommend grilled chicken or lamb chops).

© 2018 Simple Felicity

Notes:

• As with most salad, switching up the ingredients can make for some fun variety.  Considering adding (or swapping in) any of the following ingredients for variations on this recipe:
  • basil
  • cilantro
  • leeks
  • celery
  • grilled chicken (diced)
  • fetâ (crumbled)
  • kalamata olives
  • apple cider vinegar or red wine vinegar (instead of lemon)

Enjoy!