We’ve been getting English cucumbers in our CSA box the past couple of weeks, and they are ideal for this recipe. Our CSA also supplied the fresh dill and the shallots.
This cucumber salad was always part of Sunday dinners at Grandma Tild’s house during the summer.
I couldn’t find one recipe that was exactly the way I remember Grandma Tild used to make it, so I ended up combining elements from three different recipes to come up with the best approximation.
Oy, these are so good. Forget meatloaf and mashed potatoes — this is my idea of comfort food.
[Oh, and by the way farmor is Swedish for "father's mother"]
Swedish Cucumber Salad
3 cucumbers
sea salt or kosher salt1/2 cup white vinegar
1/3 cup sugar
[I used a scant 1/2 tsp of liquid stevia instead. Yes, I said a 1/2 teaspoon. 1/2 tsp liquid stevia = sweetness of 1/2 cup sugar. The excellent SweetLeaf site has a usage chart ]
1/2 cup water
1 medium size fresh shallot, minced
1 small handful dill, chopped fine
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepperPeel cucumbers, then score them by running the tines of a fork down the sides.
Slice cucumbers in thin slices [a mandoline slicer works great for this] and arrange in layers in a large colander, sprinkling with the salt after each layer.
Put a bowl on top of the sliced, salted cucumbers and weigh it down [I use a cooking pot 3/4 filled with water].As Liz sez: “Salting and pressing the cucumbers like this will drive out some of their moisture, leaving them much crisper, and better able to take up the flavours of the dressing.”
Leave the weighted bowl on top of the cucumber slices in the colander for an hour. Put the colander in the sink, or do what I did and put it inside a large dutch oven-type pot to catch the moisture from the pressed cucumber slices. After an hour, remove the cucumber pieces to a large bowl and put in the fridge to chill for an hour.
Meanwhile measure the rest of the ingredients into a small bowl, mix well and put in the fridge to chill.
When the hour is up, take the cucumbers out of the fridge, and drain off any liquid that may have accumulated. Pour the chilled vinegar dressing over the chilled cucumbers. Mix gently and serve immediately.
Will keep at least 2-3 days in the fridge. Or would if they lasted that long. In my house they’re eaten up within a day at most!
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Damn! That sounds good! I’ll have to try it.
My mother made something similar, but with no dill and a healthy dose of sour half-and-half. No one in my family eats it except me.
Tell you what: before the summer’s over I’ll make a batch of these for you. I thought it was maybe just us (me, the spouse & the offspring) who love these cukes so much, but then I brought this weekend’s batch to a friend’s annual “international picnic” on Saturday. The picnic crowd (at least 50 people) snarfed them all down within an hour, and I heard more than a few raves and calls for the recipe. Good stuff!!
You are under no circumstances allowed to bring any cucumbers to my home. I’ll try the recipe with one of the dozens I already have, thank you very much.
Made these for the in-laws over the weekend and they’re as good as you say. Mom’s recipe is now overthrown.
She will get over it, so don’t worry.
Yes! I feel so… vindicated.