Lemon cucumbers bring a cheerful shape and pale yellow colour to one of the most useful summer dishes: cucumber salad with yogurt and herbs.
This version is cooling but not bland. Salting the cucumbers first keeps the dressing thick, while garlic, lemon, dill, mint, olive oil, and toasted seeds give the bowl enough structure to sit next to grilled vegetables, lentils, fish, lamb, or flatbread.
At a glance
- Yield: Serves 4
- Time: 20 minutes
- Heat level: None
- Best season: Summer cucumber harvest
Why this variety works
Lemon cucumbers are mild, crisp, and thin-skinned when picked young. Their round slices make even a simple salad feel distinctive.
Ingredients
- 4 lemon cucumbers, sliced into rounds or half-moons
- 3/4 cup thick yogurt
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 small garlic clove, finely grated
- 1 tablespoon chopped dill
- 1 tablespoon chopped mint
- 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more to finish
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame, sunflower, or pumpkin seeds
- Kosher salt and black pepper
Method
- Salt cucumber slices lightly and let them sit in a colander for 10 minutes.
- Stir yogurt, lemon juice, garlic, dill, mint, olive oil, pepper, and a small pinch of salt together.
- Pat cucumbers dry if they have released a lot of water.
- Fold cucumbers into the yogurt dressing just before serving.
- Finish with toasted seeds, black pepper, and a thin ribbon of olive oil.
Make it yours
- Add cumin and cilantro for a raita-style version.
- Add chopped lemon cucumber pickles for extra snap.
- Add crumbled feta and olives to make it more substantial.
How to serve it
Serve with grilled flatbread, lentils, roast chicken, lamb, falafel, charred eggplant, or tomato salads.
Garden note
Pick lemon cucumbers young, while the skin is tender and the seeds are still small. Oversized fruit lose the delicate crunch that makes this salad work.
Grow it from seed: Lemon Cucumber Seeds