Hi!  I'm Noreen, wife, mother of two amazing, almost grown, daughters, content creator, cook, baker and sister in Christ. Welcome to my Kitchen!   I hope you stick around, enjoy the recipes and share them with those you love!

Noreen's Kitchen

Noreen's Kitchen
Creamy Hungarian Cucumber Salad

The Bacon bread got my mind all up in my Hungarian heritage and reminded me of so many different recipes that we used to eat when Mommom and Poppop were around.  I decided to revisit some of them.  I have share some in the past like chicken paprikash, kifli cookies and the most recent Hungarian bacon bread.  This fits right in with those and was a frequent sight on our table when I was a child.  This creamy Hungarian cucumber salad with sour cream is a light and refreshing side dish for anytime but is very welcome during the hot summer months when cucumbers are plentiful and the days are long.  

In Hungarian this is known as Uborkasalata.  It can be made a variety of ways but the two most popular are with or without sour cream.  The former is more like a pickle when it is done but the latter is a masterful work of deliciousness.  The sour cream adds something amazing to this salad.  There are a couple tricks to get this just right.  

2 tablespoons fresh dill
2 tablespoon fresh parsley, minced

2 tablespoons fresh chives, minced

1 Cup good quality mayonnaise
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper

2 English Cucumbers
1 Medium sweet onion
1 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder2 teaspoons Kosher salt

First you need to use a cucumber that is not too seedy.  So a regular garden cucumber is not going to do, unless you take the seeds out first.  I like to use either Persian or English cucumbers to avoid having to seed them.  Next is to slice these super thin.  I have an antique harp slicer from my Nanny and I still use it all the time.  You can adjust the thickness of the slice.  If you have a mandoline, this would be the time to get that out.  The thinner the slices of cucumber the better.

The biggest tip for this salad is the salting.  You cannot skip this part.  The salt is minimal and most of it will be discarded with the liquid, so don't worry about it being too salty.  You want to toss the cucumber and a thinly sliced onion together and then toss those with a couple teaspoons of Kosher salt.  If you are using regular table salt or fine salt of any kind, please only use on teaspoon.  Otherwise it will be too salty.  Toss these together very well and then cover and set aside for 10 to 15 minutes to allow the water to be drawn out of the veggies.

Meanwhile you can mix up your dressing.  There are a couple ways to do this.  You can mix sugar, vinegar, pepper, and garlic together with 1 cup of water and then add your vegetables and allow them to sit for an hour before serving.  This is the "pickle" version of this salad.  Delicious, yes, but not as delicious as the creamy version.

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Wash cucumbers and slice on the thinnest setting of a mandolin.

Slice onion the same way as the cucumber.

Combine cucumbers and onions in a large bowl.

Sprinkle vegetables with two teaspoons of Kosher salt and toss well to combine.

Allow the vegetables to sit for 10 to 15 minutes to allow the water to be drawn out.

Prepare the dressing by combining sour cream, vinegar, sugar and spices in a bowl and whisking well to combine.  Set aside.

When at least 1 cup of water has collected in the bowl of vegetables, begin to squeeze the water out of them by the handful.  When you have eliminated the most moisture in each handful, place the vegetables in the bowl with the dressing.

Stir the vegetables with the dressing being sure to coat everything well.

Add herbs to the salad and stir again to incorporate.

Cover and refrigerate for at least two hours before serving.

NOTE:  If you prefer, you can leave out the sour cream.  However you will want to add 1 cup of cold water and blend well.  This will give you more of a pickle like cucumber that is sweet and tangy.

NOTE:  You can also choose to leave the vinegar and sugar out of the creamy version if you prefer.  This will give you a very nice plain and creamy cucumber dish.

To make the creamy version, add 1 cup of sour cream to a bowl with 2 tablespoons of white vinegar and 1 tablespoon of sugar along with garlic powder (or you can use fresh minced if you prefer) and black pepper.  Whisk well and that is your dressing.  If you don't like sweet and tangy, leave out both the vinegar and the sugar.  I love it both ways and grew up with both ways.  

When the dressing is ready and the vegetables are wilted and there is about a cup of water in the bottom of the bowl, it is time to squeeze.  By handfuls, squeeze the excess water out of the cucumber and onion mixture, then add the vegetables to the bowl with the dressing.  Discard the leftover liquid.  

Blend the salad together very well and add fresh herbs.  I added 2 tablespoons each of fresh flat leaf parsley, chives and dill.  Stir all this in and place into a serving dish.

This salad is ready to eat right away but is much better if allowed to sit in the refrigerator for at least a couple hours and is amazing the next day.  You enjoy this when you like it.  

I hope you enjoy this creamy Hungarian cucumber salad and I hope you give it a try sometime soon and I hope you love it!

Jó étvágyat (Happy Eating)

Creamy Hungarian Cucumber Salad

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