This post was originally published on July 2, 2019.
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This salad offers the perfect summer addition to your main dishes. It’s light and flavorful. You’ll end up eating toonnnnss of it, it’s so yummy! You won’t even feel the teensiest bit guilty about it!
It’s definitely a case of if it’s wrong, then I don’t wanna be right!
Growing up with German heritage, one of the things that I know well is the food. Beyond the obvious schnitzel and spaetzle and black forest cake, there were always distinct salads at family gatherings.
Like all those potato salads.
And the cabbage. Is sauerkraut a salad?
Mmm!
(Confession, I didn’t much like sauerkraut until I tried it at a friend’s German restaurant as an adult. Taste buds change, folks!)
I love cucumbers. I always have. And I’m not sorry! This is one of those recipes that takes advantage of the crisp summery goodness that are cucumbers. Weellllll, this and pickling, but that’s a post for another day.
I realize you may be asking, how this German when right there in the title you’re calling it Hungarian? Let me tell you how.
My German grandmother, Oma, grew up in Hungary. She learned how to make her cucumber salad when she lived there from an authentic Hungarian cook. She also learned how to cook all of her yummy dishes there. Like palacsinta and chicken paprikás. Soooo, so good!
Hence, the Hungarian connection with my German Oma. There you have it!
Side note: I’ve traveled to Budapest and I have to let you know, Hungary has some of the freshest food I’ve ever tasted. And really good wine, too.
Oma’s Hungarian Cucumber Salad
As always, these amounts can be altered as suits your taste. You can make this salad either with or without sour cream. Both are yum-my.
2 large cucumbers, sliced thin
½ onion, sliced thin (optional)
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons white sugar
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1 teaspoon dried dill
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon paprika
Directions
Spread cucumbers and onion on a platter; season with salt and let rest for 30 minutes. Squeeze excess moisture from cucumbers
Stir sour cream, sugar, vinegar, dill, and parsley together in a large bowl.
Fold cucumber and onion slices into the sour cream mixture.
Refrigerate 8 hours to overnight; garnish with paprika to serve.
It’s important to slice the cucumber as thinly as possible. This way they absorb the other ingredients, creating the perfect environment for the flavors to all blend together thoroughly. Also, I like the flavor of red onions as well as the additional color they bring to an otherwise bland looking dish. I’ve never been afraid of color and here’s just another example!
I used a mandoline slicer to ensure consistency. It also made the slicing go much quicker. I sliced them over some paper towels in a strainer to help absorb the liquid. These would later be used to squeeze out any additional cucumber water.
About halfway through this process, I sprinkled some salt onto the mixture. The salt not only flavors, it also releases the water in the cucumber so that it can be squeezed out later.
Once that step was complete, it was time to let the cucumbers and onions rest. I suppose it’s hard work to be sliced thin! The recipe instructs to lay out on a platter, however, I didn’t do that. I just kept it in the bowl. Also, it all rested much longer than a half hour because I met up with an old friend visiting from overseas and then had a quick appointment. All that being said, you don’t need to be precise! Yay!
Next, the combination of all of the things! Measure out all the other ingredients, mix it up, pour it on, fold. it. in.
It really does taste better after several hours of chillin’, so I do recommend that.
When you are ready to serve, sprinkle on some paprika to dress it up and look pretty!
Guten Appetit!
Jó étvágy!
Enjoy!
