This cucumber and tomato salad is so good that you could eat it alone and never think of eating anything else with it, like bread, meat, etc. It’s one of those salads that is so balanced and so tasty that you crave it, like you would chocolate. I get those cravings. The good thing is that this salad is very easy and quick to make.
As a matter of fact, my 8-year-old daughter made this salad that you see on the pictures all by herself, from peeling and chopping the veggies, to making the dressing and mixing it all together. She was so proud! This is the first dish she had ever made all by herself, and the salad was so good that she received a ton of compliments for it.
This salad is a close sibling of the family favorite Tomato, Cucumber and Avocado Salad but without the avocado and with different herbs. Yes, not everyone likes avocado and basil as much as I do, and most people that I know love parsley and cilantro. If you want, you can substitute herbs in this salad for basil. Either way, this salad will impress.
Tips for making this cucumber and tomato salad
When picking tomatoes for this salad make sure they are aromatic and ripe. Buy the best tomatoes you can find. It will make a huge difference. If the tomatoes are not fully ripe, leave them on a windowsill for a couple of days to ripen. You want them fully ripe, slightly soft, fragrant and juicy. That’s the kind of tomato that makes this cucumber and tomato salad shine.
The cucumbers, on the other hand, should be fresh and crunchy, to create a textural contrast to the tomatoes. Speaking about this salad already makes my mouth water.
The tomatoes must be cut into large chunks. This may seems crude and lazy, but it makes a perfect sense. Large chunks of tomatoes will burst in your mouth with delicious juices, while thinly cut ones won’t impress as much. So, yes, they must be big and chunky.
Finally, when making the dressing, use a very good quality olive oil. Not the one that you cook with, but a good quality extra virgin olive oil. Low quality oil will ruin this otherwise magnificent salad. What does good quality olive oil taste like? Here is a resource from Olive Tomato that describes it very nicely, better than I ever could.
Oh, and try this salad with freshly baked no-knead bread, or its sourdough cousin, or the whole wheat sourdough bread for a healthier version. Use the bread to soak in every last drop of the delicious dressing.
Rustic Cucumber and Tomato Salad Recipe
Ingredients
For the vegetables:
- 5 large tomatoes (fresh and fully ripe; tomatoes on the vine are a very good choice)
- 1 pinch brown sugar
- 1 English cucumber (fresh and firm)
- 1/2 large red onion
- 2 Tbsp chopped fresh Italian parsley
- 2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
- 1 pinch kosher salt
- 1 pinch black pepper
For the dressing:
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil (very good quality)
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 2 garlic cloves (pressed)
- 1 tsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp dried oregano
Instructions
- Core the tomatoes, cut into 6-8 wedges, then cut each wedge in half. Place the tomatoes into a large bowl, sprinkle with a pinch of brown sugar, salt, and pepper, and toss really well.
- Cut the cucumber in half lengthwise, then slice it into 1/4" thick slices. Add the cucumbers to the tomatoes.
- Slice half the red the onion into very thin slivers crosswise. Then cut the slivers in half, or leave as is, depending on you preference. Add to cucumbers and tomatoes. Add the chopped parsley and cilantro.
- To prepare the dressing, throw all of the dressing ingredients into a small bowl and whisk together vigorously, until well blended.
- Pour the dressing over the vegetables and toss gently using both hands. Cover the bowl with plastic and let sit at room temperature until ready to serve, for 1 to 6 hours. This will allow the flavors to meld together. Then serve and refrigerate the leftovers for up to 3 days.
Nutrition
Colleen D
Absolutely delicious, the perfect summer salad
Celeste
Lets have this Sunday with the steaks and crab cakes….
Eleanor Myrberg
Great salad, especially when one has an abundance of tomatoes in the garden. For a dinner party, I bumped it up a notch with artichoke hearts but it is delicious as is.
Leah
Love this recipe! It was so good. I got tons of compliments and everyone wanted the recipe.
Robert Hefkey
as promised !!!
Hank
That was amazing. Made it and left in Frig for four hours and then it’s gone. I will make that again.
Mary
Absolutely delicious!
Carrie
Could I sub red wine vin. with apple.cider vin?
victor
You sure can. Both have a pronounced tangy taste and that’s what you want. Apple cider vinegar will add a hint of apple flavor.
Marie
Oh my! Don’t stop at tomatoes and cukes. Enjoy this dressing with greens and anything else
You can imagine! Love love this dressing!
Lynne
Hi, looks amazing looking forward to giving it a go this week for a family dinner. Can add anything to replace the red wine vinegar.? Thanks!
victor
Try freshly squeezed juice of 1 lime and 1/2 an orange. This is my other favorite way to make a salad dressing. I use about 50/50 oil to combined juices. It’s delicious.
Britnee
Making this for the 4th as well!! Adding in some fresh mozzarella balls for the kiddos.
Rosy
Made this salad a couple weeks ago and it was quite the hit! So making again for the 4th.
Thank you very much for this simple and delicious recipe.
victor
You are very welcome. Enjoy and Happy 4th of July!
Gina
This salad is so good! I used fresh basil and oregano from my garden. Will definitely be making again.
Renee
This looks delicious. Has anyone added bread to it, sort of like a “panzannella” ?
victor
I did and it was fantastic. Here is my recipe for panzanella.
Sophia
Made it today, it was delicious!! Thank you for the recipe. Will make it all Summer!
Doni
Loved this – made with cilantro and added avacodo. So good!
Daphne
Made this Tomato and Cucumber Salad and
It was great! The only problem is I live alone
and had to eat it all by myself but it was worth it! 😊
victor
Glad to heat that you liked it, Daphne. My favorite salad right now.
Carmen
Exemple of good quality olive oil please…
victor
The rule of thumb that I use is that if the oil smells and tastes good on its own, it’s good for a salad. I know, it’s easy to say but how do you tell that it smells and tastes good? What is good when it pertains to olive oil? Here is a resource that will tell you better than I ever could: https://www.olivetomato.com/how-to-recognize-good-and-bad-olive-oil/.
Hana
It’s yummy and amazing, so tasty. I love it
Barbar
I live in AZ. We don’t have tomatoes that are large and flavorful. I can get ping pong ball size and cherry tomatoes. Can you tell ne approximately how many cups ?
victor
A large tomato that I use is about 1/2 a lb or 225 grams, give or take. For this recipe you will need about 2 1/2 lbs. Cut them in half and you are good to go. When I was in FL last summer, I really liked Georgia and Tennessee tomatoes. You may be able to find them in your neck of woods. The taste varies from year to year, one is good the next is excellent. Some not so good. Big grocery stores’ tomatoes aren’t that great. Local farm markets offer the best, but limited to season only (August – October here up north). I’ve had great success with local farmers markets last fall. AZ is very sunny, it’s good for tomatoes. I would think you’d have a good supply down there.
Ladena
I made a modified version of this and got nothing but compliments! I didn’t add the sugar, parsley or cilantro. I did add 12 leaves of fresh basil cut into ribbons. Might try it again with a few drops of liquid stevia (about 6 or 7) next time. Awesome!
Peter
very tasty salad. i am doing this second time .
victor
Glad to hear that, Peter.
Steve Rainwater
I have made this recipe for years. Never put cilantro or brown sugar in it though. Most people will literally love this salad. I can tell you that one time I made it and after my guest finished eating it one of the Italian guys actually pick up the bowl and drank every drop of the dressing! That was 25 years ago and my friends and I still laugh about that!
victor
Funny story indeed. And I do it all the time. I either drink the leftover dressing or pour it over a piece of sourdough bread and eat it like that, or rip off small pieces of bread and dip them in the juices… I am drooling now just thinking about it.
Sophie James
Nice post… the salad looks delicious.
Linda
So summery!
Helena
This salad looks delicious!!!
victor
Thank you!