One of my all time favorite summer salads that we probably make a few times a week in our house is a gluten free cucumber tomato salad with an oil and vinegar dressing. It pairs so well with any meal, from barbecues to holidays, I think I’ve made it for a number of them. The best part is is that it is so simple to put together! My favorite time to make this is during the summer, when we have fresh tomatoes and cucumbers from our garden. Nothing beats using your own veggies especially incredibly ripe tomatoes…so good!!! Even if it’s not summer though, this is equally as delicious year round, and trust me we enjoy that way. For a little twist on this classic oil and vinegar dressing I like to use a roasted garlic infused red wine vinegar by Pompeian, which is gluten free. I love the flavor of garlic so anytime I can add it to a dish in a subtle way I’m eager too and this was a perfect item to do just that.
This dish is so easily gluten free and only uses four ingredients, most of which are cabinet staples in our house. For this one, I’m just going to touch on the ingredients and how to quickly throw everything together, not going into too much detail. This recipe is so flexible and can be tweaked as you need it or prefer, i.e. using as much of each ingredient as necessary for the size of your dinner party, more tomatoes than cucumbers, more of vinegar flavor than oil, etc.. So just gather as many tomatoes and cucumbers as you’d like and top them with your perfect combination of gluten free oil and vinegar!
Ingredients:
- Tomatoes (any size tomatoes will do)
- Cucumbers
- Pompeian Roasted Garlic Infused Red Wine Vinegar
- Smart Balance Oil
- Note: Total amounts and ratios of tomatoes to cucumbers can vary depending on your own personal preference. I like to end up with equal parts tomatoes to cucumbers so I just chop up and go from there. For my small family of three, I usually chop up a medium cucumber and two plum tomatoes/2 cups of grape tomatoes (or whatever I have on hand).
Directions:
- Wash and peel cucumber.
- Cut cucumber long ways into quarters and then chop into bite-size pieces.
- Optional: When I have extra time to spare, I add these to a bowl, dust them with salt, and leave them for 1/2 hr to 1 hr, this allows the water to drain from the cucumbers which tend to hold a ton of water. I have to say though, this step doesn’t happen often for me so don’t worry if you are short on time, this is completely optional.
- Wash and chop tomatoes into bite-size pieces. I even like to cut grape tomatoes into smaller pieces, making bite-size pieces for my little one to enjoy!
- Note: When making the dressing, the amount and balance of oil to vinegar is really based on your own personal taste. What I like to do is mix the dressing first and then adjust the volume once I add in the cucumbers and tomatoes.
- Of course this is completely dependent upon how much chopped tomato and cucumber you have, but I usually start with 1/4 cup oil and then add in about half that amount of vinegar. Taste and adjust as you desire.
- Mix in dressing, tomatoes, and cucumbers making sure all are coated with dressing. Feel free to add more dressing if needed or desired at this point. You don’t need a ton of dressing on this salad, a little goes a long way and the veggies don’t have to be swimming in it; just as long as you mix up the salad well and all veggies have been coated with the dressing you’re good to go.
- I like to taste a bite to see how it all goes together. At this point you can either add more dressing or even add a little salt or garlic salt and pepper to taste.
And there you have it! A light and summery salad, with only four ingredients, that you can enjoy year round! As you can tell, this recipe is incredibly flexible and can be customized to your own personal tastes, that’s the beauty of it. So file this one away in your recipe book and maybe even add it to your Easter dinner this weekend! It only takes about 10 minutes in all to make and is such a tasty addition to your meal!
Sincerely,
Lindsay
- Tomatoes (any size tomatoes will do)
- Cucumbers
- Pompeian Roasted Garlic Infused Red Wine Vinegar
- Smart Balance Oil
- Note: Total amounts and ratios of tomatoes to cucumbers can vary depending on your personal preference. I like to end up with equal parts tomatoes to cucumbers so I just chop up and go from there. For my small family of three, I usually chop up a medium cucumber and two plum tomatoes/2 cups of grape tomatoes (or whatever I have on hand).
- Wash and peel cucumber.
- Cut cucumber long ways into quarters and then chop into bite-size pieces.
- Optional: When I have extra time to spare, I add these to a bowl, dust them with salt, and leave them for 1/2 hr to 1 hr, this allows the water to drain from the cucumbers which tend to hold a ton of water. I have to say though, this step doesn't happen often for me, so don't worry if you are short on time, this is completely optional.
- Wash and chop tomatoes into bite-size pieces. I even like to cut grape tomatoes into smaller pieces, making bite-size pieces for my little one to enjoy.
- Note: When making the dressing, the amount and balance of oil to vinegar is really based on your own personal taste. What I like to do is mix the dressing first and then adjust the volume once I add in the cucumbers and tomatoes.
- Of course this is completely dependent upon how much chopped tomato and cucumber you have, but I usually start with 1/4 cup oil and then add in about half that amount of vinegar. Taste and adjust as you desire.
- Mix in dressing, tomatoes, and cucumbers making sure all are coated with dressing. Feel free to add more dressing if needed or desired at this point. You don't need a ton of dressing on this salad, a little goes a long way and your veggies don't need to be swimming in it; so keep it light, just as long as you mix up the salad well and all veggies have been coated with the dressing you're good to go.