This salad is my rendition of my grandmother’s wonderful cucumber salad,
which I will forever associate with my cousin Jenette, as it was one of the
only things she ate without question when we were kids. Sometimes my
grandmother would run the tines of a fork down the outside of the cucumber
so that when she sliced it, the rounds would come out with perforated edges,
a bit of flair that I remember thinking was the most sophisticated thing I had
ever seen in my life! Anyway, enough about cucumbers. The small victory
here has nothing to do with them and everything to do with the beets that go
along with them. Peel cooked beets using paper towels to make the slightly
clumsy task way less clumsy (paper towels = grip) and way less messy (no
stained hands!).
SERVES 6
1 English cucumber, ends trimmed, thinly sliced
Kosher salt
1 tsp sugar
2 Tbsp sherry vinegar
1 lb [455 g] red beets, scrubbed
2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh dill, plus more for sprinkling
3 Tbsp crème fraîche, sour cream, or plain yogurt
In a large bowl, combine the cucumbers with 1 tsp salt and the sugar. Drizzle the vinegar over the cucumbers and use your hands to combine everything. Set aside to lightly pickle.
Meanwhile, bring a large saucepan of water to a boil and add the beets (the water should cover the beets—if it doesn’t, add more). Cook the beets, turning them every so often, until they’re tender (test with a paring knife), about 45 minutes (it may be a bit less or a bit longer depending on the size and age of the beets, so start testing at 30 minutes).
Drain the beets, transfer to a paper towel–lined cutting board, and use the paper towels to rub the skins off the beets. Trim off and discard the root ends of the beets.
Slice the warm beets into thin rounds and transfer them to a large serving bowl or platter. Drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle with a generous pinch of salt. Use your hands or a slotted spoon to transfer the cucumbers to the beets and gently combine.
Put the dill and crème fraîche in the bowl that the cucumbers were in and whisk together with the juice from the cucumbers. Pour the mixture over the salad and sprinkle with additional dill. Serve immediately.
SPIN-OFFS
MAKE A QUICK DRESSING OF EQUAL PARTS SOY SAUCE, toasted sesame oil, and rice vinegar and dress the sliced beets and cucumbers with it. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds and a few sliced scallions.
Beet and goat cheese salads are a bit cliché these days, but I love clichés! I find that they often became clichés for a good reason—in this case, beets and goat cheese taste great together. To put a little spin on the cliché, make a GOAT CHEESE DRESSING by whisking together room-temperature goat cheese with sherry vinegar and olive oil until smooth; season with salt and pepper. Dress sliced beets with it and adorn with a few chopped toasted nuts or poppy seeds and/or chopped dill or parsley.
SERVES 6
1 English cucumber, ends trimmed, thinly sliced
Kosher salt
1 tsp sugar
2 Tbsp sherry vinegar
1 lb [455 g] red beets, scrubbed
2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh dill, plus more for sprinkling
3 Tbsp crème fraîche, sour cream, or plain yogurt
In a large bowl, combine the cucumbers with 1 tsp salt and the sugar. Drizzle the vinegar over the cucumbers and use your hands to combine everything. Set aside to lightly pickle.
Meanwhile, bring a large saucepan of water to a boil and add the beets (the water should cover the beets—if it doesn’t, add more). Cook the beets, turning them every so often, until they’re tender (test with a paring knife), about 45 minutes (it may be a bit less or a bit longer depending on the size and age of the beets, so start testing at 30 minutes).
Drain the beets, transfer to a paper towel–lined cutting board, and use the paper towels to rub the skins off the beets. Trim off and discard the root ends of the beets.
Slice the warm beets into thin rounds and transfer them to a large serving bowl or platter. Drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle with a generous pinch of salt. Use your hands or a slotted spoon to transfer the cucumbers to the beets and gently combine.
Put the dill and crème fraîche in the bowl that the cucumbers were in and whisk together with the juice from the cucumbers. Pour the mixture over the salad and sprinkle with additional dill. Serve immediately.
SPIN-OFFS
MAKE A QUICK DRESSING OF EQUAL PARTS SOY SAUCE, toasted sesame oil, and rice vinegar and dress the sliced beets and cucumbers with it. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds and a few sliced scallions.
Beet and goat cheese salads are a bit cliché these days, but I love clichés! I find that they often became clichés for a good reason—in this case, beets and goat cheese taste great together. To put a little spin on the cliché, make a GOAT CHEESE DRESSING by whisking together room-temperature goat cheese with sherry vinegar and olive oil until smooth; season with salt and pepper. Dress sliced beets with it and adorn with a few chopped toasted nuts or poppy seeds and/or chopped dill or parsley.
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