A few summers ago, one of our very kind neighbors provided us with several cucumbers from their garden. With the exception of water – or any beverage for that matter – we love all things cucumber, so we welcomed the opportunity to enjoy this surplus of fresh produce from next door! My sister suggested we try a cucumber salsa and we fell in love.
Admittedly, the only thing I recall about how we made it that year was that it had cucumbers in it. (Oops!) So the following year, we developed an updated version and this time we wrote down the recipe…
Cucumber Salsa
ingredients…
from the pantry:
(be sure you have these ingredients on hand before heading to the market)
salt
black pepper
cayenne pepper (optional)
2 cloves garlic
white wine vinegar
from the market:
2 large cucumbers (or 3 smaller)
yellow onion
red onion
2 jalapenos
lime
cilantro
Fresh Salsa is always better when you customize it to your own personal preferences, and since making it pretty much consists of chopping everything up and mixing it together, there isn’t much of a recipe other than the list of ingredients. However, in case you would like a little more direction for your first attempt, here’s what we do…
Peel, seed, and dice 2 cucumbers. Chop 1/2 red onion, 1/2 yellow onion, 2 jalapenos (include a few seeds for heat), 2 cloves garlic, and 2 small tomatoes (without seeds). Add juice of 1 freshly squeezed lime + zest, 1 tbsp white wine vinegar, and 1-2 Tbsp finely chopped cilantro. Salt and pepper to taste. We also added a dash of cayenne pepper for a little extra kick.
Grab a bag of chips and a margarita and enjoy!
Oh yeah, and this Cucumber Lime Salsa pairs perfectly with these Steak Quesadillas.
-m
PS. In a pinch, you can substitute a can of Rotel tomatoes (drained) in lieu of fresh tomatoes and jalapenos. We prefer using all fresh ingredients, but since I typically have everything but tomatoes and jalapenos on hand, adding the canned version allows me to make this salsa without a trip to the store.
