Summer is prime time for big main-dish salads and small side-dish salads. In the case of the latter, in my kitchen, one quick-to-fix creamy sour-cream-based dressing has me eating a side of crunchy cucumber or tangy tomato salad in the time it takes the average steak to grill. Yes, of course, go ahead, do the math and double, triple or quadruple this recipe to make a bigger batch, but, in my kitchen, I don't make more than me or my family is going to eat in one sitting. Why? I don't like leftover cucumber or tomato salad -- simply stated: neither is better the next day.
Make one of each & enjoy a side-dish-salad feast:
For the dressing for each salad:
2 tablespoons sour cream
1/2 teaspoon dried herbes de Provence (Note: Herbes de Provence is an all-purpose mixture of rosemary, marjoram, thyme and savory, which I like to use because it lends itself to the flavor profile of almost anything I decide to serve as a main-course.)
1/2 teaspoon dehydrated minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon dehydrated minced onion
1/4 teaspoon coarse-grind black pepper
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
For the cucumbers or tomatoes & onions:
1 generous 1/2 cup of peeled and thinly-sliced, seedless cucumber
1 generous 1/2 cup of small Campari tomatoes wedges
1/4 cup thinly-sliced red onion, cut into half-moon shapes, half-moon shapes cut in half
~Step 1. To make the dressing for each salad, in each of two small bowls, place and thoroughly stir together the sour cream, herbes de Provence, dehydrated garlic, dehydrated onion, pepper and salt. Using a small rubber spatula, add and fold the onions into each bowl. Allow this mixture to sit about 5 minutes for the dehydrated onion and garlic to soften and the flavors to marry. Add the sliced cucumbers to one bowl and the tomato wedges to the other bowl. Very gently, fold the cucumbers and tomatoes into the dressing in each bowl.
Serve immediately or refrigerate 1-2 hours until serving time:
Herb-Sour-Cream Cucumber or Tomato Salad Cups: Recipe yields 3/4-1 cup cucumber or tomato salad/1 serving each.
Special Equipment List: vegetable peeler; cutting board; chef's knife; serrated tomato knife; spoon, small rubber spatula
Cook's Note: I'm a lover of potato salad, but, when a hankering for it hits, I don't want to waste a lot of time getting from point A to point B. I want potato salad ASAP. For that reason, this is my "go to" recipe -- it's nothing fancy, but, it's done within the hour (and in potato salad time, that's quick). There's more. While the potatoes are in the microwave, I often chop some additions (celery, onion and/or hard-cooked egg), and mix them in, but, I'm here to tell you, this quick-fix potato salad, pure and simple, tastes great just as it is. Try my ~ My Dijonnaisse-Dressed Baked Russet Potato Salad ~.
"We are all in this food world together." ~ Melanie Preschutti
(Recipe, Commentary and Photos courtesy of Melanie's Kitchen/Copyright 2021)
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