Cucumber Salad with Yogurt

Cucumber Salad with Yogurt

Here's a refreshing salad for hot summer days that is easy to make. I use small cucumbers that are sold as Persian cucumbers. They have very thin skin, so if you wash them well, you can eat them without peeling the skin. Real authentic Turkish version of this salad is called CACIK, which is more like a cold soup than a salad. It has the same ingredients, but water is added to the yogurt to make it thinner. You eat "cacik" with a spoon. It accompanies many main dishes like kebabs, stuffed eggplants, cooked dry beans, etc. The recipe below is thicker than traditional "cacik". Since it is thicker, you don't have to have a separate dish to serve it and a side salad suits the Western taste better than a cold soup. Hope you enjoy it.

Ingredients:

• 3 Small Persian cucumbers (about 2 cups)
• 1 cup yogurt
• 1-2 cloves garlic, crushed (optional)
• 1/4 cup fresh dill, finely chopped
• Salt to taste
• Sprigs of fresh dill or parsley for garnishing

Directions:
Clean and peel cucumbers. Cut in quarters lengthwise. Cut long pieces into thin slices. Combine yogurt, garlic(optional), dill and salt in a large bowl. Mix well with a spoon until smooth. Add cucumber and gently mix with a spoon making sure the yogurt mixture is well blended with cucumber. Transfer to a serving dish. Garnish with fresh dill. Serve chilled.

Afiyet Olsun! Bon Appetit!