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Yogurt Mint Cucumber Salad

By America's Test Kitchen

Published on September 15, 2011

Time

20 minutes, plus 1 hour draining

Yield

Serves 4 as a side dish

Yogurt Mint Cucumber Salad

Ingredients

1 cup plain low-fat yogurt 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil ¼ cup minced fresh mint leaves 2 small cloves garlic, minced½ teaspoon ground cumin Salt and ground black pepper 3 medium cucumbers, sliced, salted, and drained (see directions)

Instructions

  1. To prepare the cucumbers: Peel, halve lengthwise, and scoop seeds from cucumbers. Stack halves flat side down; slice diagonally 1/4-inch thick. Toss with 1 tablespoon salt in strainer or colander set over bowl; weight with water-filled, one-gallon-sized zipper-lock freezer bag, sealed tight. Drain for at least 1 hour, and up to 3 hours. Transfer to medium bowl; reserve for further use.
  2. Whisk first five ingredients, and salt and pepper to taste, in medium bowl. Add cucumbers; toss to coat. Serve chilled, adjusting seasonings if necessary.
Yogurt Mint Cucumber Salad

Yogurt Mint Cucumber Salad

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By America's Test Kitchen
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Time

20 minutes, plus 1 hour draining

Yield

Serves 4 as a side dish

Ingredients

1 cup plain low-fat yogurt
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
¼ cup minced fresh mint leaves
2 small cloves garlic, minced
½ teaspoon ground cumin
Salt and ground black pepper
3 medium cucumbers, sliced, salted, and drained (see directions)

Ingredients

1 cup plain low-fat yogurt
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
¼ cup minced fresh mint leaves
2 small cloves garlic, minced
½ teaspoon ground cumin
Salt and ground black pepper
3 medium cucumbers, sliced, salted, and drained (see directions)

Ingredients

1 cup plain low-fat yogurt
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
¼ cup minced fresh mint leaves
2 small cloves garlic, minced
½ teaspoon ground cumin
Salt and ground black pepper
3 medium cucumbers, sliced, salted, and drained (see directions)

Why This Recipe Works

For a cucumber salad recipe with good crunch, we found that weighting salted cucumbers forced more water from them than salting alone. After many tests, we determined that one to three hours worked best for our cucumber salad recipe: Even at 12 hours, the cucumbers gave up no more water than they had after three hours.

Instructions

  1. To prepare the cucumbers: Peel, halve lengthwise, and scoop seeds from cucumbers. Stack halves flat side down; slice diagonally 1/4-inch thick. Toss with 1 tablespoon salt in strainer or colander set over bowl; weight with water-filled, one-gallon-sized zipper-lock freezer bag, sealed tight. Drain for at least 1 hour, and up to 3 hours. Transfer to medium bowl; reserve for further use.
  2. Whisk first five ingredients, and salt and pepper to taste, in medium bowl. Add cucumbers; toss to coat. Serve chilled, adjusting seasonings if necessary.

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