Since I was young, my dad has kept a garden. It amounts to a different size each, and always with a varying array of fruits and veggies. No matter the size of the harvest, I have sweet memories of stomping around in the dirt without shoes on to help him water the steadfast staples, like tomatoes, peppers, and greens. Best of all was plucking the cucumbers once they got big and green enough, then watching as he incorporated them into a simple three-ingredient appetizer.
Doused in vinegar and tossed with onions, his icy cold bowl of summer cucumber and onions—a floating salad of sorts—always made me pucker, but the sweetness of the fresh summer cucumbers had me coming back for more. To this day, I delight in whipping this easy appetizer up myself and munching on it all day long, especially as I wait for a hot summer meal to come off the grill.
My Dad’s 3-Ingredient Cookout Appetizer
Hot dogs, hamburgers, and grilled corn often get the spotlight at a summer barbecue—and rightfully so—but rarely do the cold cut vegetables and salads get the praise they deserve. I credit my dad to seeing potential in even the mildest of veggies to create something more flavorful—and memorable—than any cut of marinated meat.
Allrecipes/Abbey Littlejohn
The Trick Behind My Dad’s 3-Ingredient Appetizer
It’s just 3-ingredients: cucumber, onion, and vinegar, but every element does a lot of work. The sweet flavors of the fresh-grown cucumber mellow out the strong bite of the onion, and the vinegar balances out all of the juices of the vegetables as they sit and sweat. To keep things cold and snappy, ice cubes are essential.
This surprising addition of ice helps keep the veggies and vinegar at that perfect temperature that allows them to sweat, release their juices and aromatic notes, but also tempers the pungency of even the sharpest-tasting onions. It also provides a cooling effect in the kitchen—like a little bowl of air conditioning. Whether you stop to take a bite out of a cold, snappy cucumber dripping with onion and vinegar or not, it’s hard to deny an ever-so-slight cool breeze as you pass by.
How to Make Cucumber and Onions in Vinegar
While this recipe is technically as simple as simple as plopping slices of cucumbers and onions into a bowl with white vinegar and ice cubes, my dad has made some tweaks here and there to draw out the nuances of all the flavors and how they interact. Here are the basic steps to the recipe, with a few important details to keep in mind:
- Peel the cucumber—but not all the way: My dad insists on leaving some of the cucumber peel on for texture and color, but also flavor. When sweet cucumbers are home-grown, there’s something special about every element—even the peel. If you prefer cucumber without the peel, be sure not to peel too much. It’s important to maintain their structure so they don’t fall apart in the liquid.
- Slice onions thin: Thin slices of onion—and cucumber for that matter—doesn’t just mean a greater quantity of vegetables for grabbing and snacking. It’s also essential for a sweet, pleasant flavor. It may seem counterintuitive, but the thinner the onion slice, the less oniony your dish will be. That’s because the ice cubes mellow out the pungent onion, and the more contact the onions have with the ice cold mixture the more mild they become. (However, if you prefer more onion flavor, you are certainly welcome to slice the onions thick!)
- Add vinegar and ice cubes: Cover the onions and cucumbers generously with vinegar (either white vinegar or apple cider vinegar will do). Then add a generous handful ice cubes, which will melt as the evening progresses and keep onions and cucumbers cold, snappy, and pleasantly tangy but sweet.
Get the recipe: Cucumber and Onion Salad
