Cool Cucumber And Rice Salad Recipes

RICE, ASPARAGUS AND CUCUMBER SALAD

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan, bring 1 3/4 cups water to boil. Add rice; return to boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook until water is absorbed and rice is tender, about 20 minutes. Fluff with fork; transfer to bowl. Cool to room temperature.
• Cook asparagus in a large saucepan of boiling salted water until tender, about 1 minute. Drain and rinse with cold water to cool. Cut the asparagus into 1-inch pieces. Add asparagus, cucumber and green onions to rice.
• Whisk together the mustard, sugar, vinegar, dry mustard, oil and chopped dill. Cover salad and dressing separately. Refrigerate until chilled.
• Pour dressing into salad and season with salt and pepper. Line large bowl with lettuce and mound salad in bowl. Garnish with dill sprigs.

COOL CUCUMBER AND RICE SALAD

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil; cook rice until tender, drain, and briefly rinse with cool water. Spread on a kitchen towel, cover with another towel, and gently pat dry.
• Meanwhile, put the cucumbers, parsley, dill and mint in a large bowl.
• Combine the onions, salt, vinegar and oil to make the dressing.
• While the rice is still warm, stir it into the cucumber mix, adding the dressing and the yogurt. Toss gently with a wide spatula. Taste for salt and pepper.
• Serve tepid or chilled on lettuce leaves.
• Note: I made this without the yogurt, as I had none, and it tasted great without it, too. You might want to stir yogurt to loosen it, to facilitate incorporating it into the salad. I think any number of herbs would taste good in this, so use what you have available. I added some lemon balm.

COOL CUCUMBER SALAD

Steps:

• Combine the vinegar, sugar and 1/2 cup water in a pan and bring to boil over medium-high heat. Pour over the cucumbers and onions in a heatproof container. Add the tarragon and salt, and gently toss. Refrigerate for several hours before serving.

EASY COOL CUCUMBER SALAD

Steps:

• Peel the cucumber and slice very thin. Put in a bowl and toss with the salt; chill one hour. Drain (I don't do a lot of salt and in the future will rinse), then pat dry. Return to bowl and stir in the Crema and onion, season with fresh ground pepper. Chill and serve.
• The original recipe called for re-constituted dried onion flakes (ugh) and pickled cherry peppers, which I didn't have. It also called for some sugar, but the Mexican crema was perfectly sweet enough for me. Should I ever find the pickled peppers, though, I'd like to try adding them.

RICE SALAD WITH CUCUMBER, LEMON AND SCALLION

Steps:

• Combine the lemon rind and lemon juice in a large salad bowl. Slowly whisk in the olive oil and add the salt and pepper. Set aside. Cut the cucumbers into half-moon slices, 1/2 inch thick. Add the cucumber slices and scallions to the lemon vinaigrette. Toss.
• Cook the rice in water according to the directions on the package. When tender but still firm, remove from heat. Place in a colander and chill briefly under cold running water until the rice is at room temperature. Drain well. Add the rice to the salad bowl. Toss. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving. This can be made up to 24 hours ahead of time.