A refreshing salad of cucumber and yogurt sounds even dreamier when you’re in week two of the summer’s relentless heat wave. Anything to avoid turning the oven on is a win and bonus point if said dish is cooling too – which this salad certainly is.
If you like tzatziki you’ll easily fall for this Turkish-inspired smashed cucumber, blueberry, and pistachio salad. Simple enough to be ready in a few minutes, it can be a light lunch on a too hot day or a quick side to whatever’s cooking on the grill that night.
Use small Persian cucumbers and have fun beating the %*!# out of them! I used a rolling pin but anything heavy will do – just be careful not to overdo it as you want some nice chunks as opposed to mush. Smashing helps break down the cucumbers just enough that they’re ready to soak up more dressing.
Gently mix cucumbers with Greek yogurt, lightly toasted pistachios, fresh mint, and dill.
When ready to serve, top with some fresh berries (traditionally mulberries but I swapped in blueberries and I bet black raspberries would be great here too) and a drizzle or pomegranate molasses.
A cool, crunchy, and oh so delicious summer salad I can’t get enough of these days.
3. Spoon into serving plates, drizzle with the pomegranate molasses and top with the fresh blueberries (or mulberries, black raspberries, etc.).
1/2 cup Greek-style yogurt
1/2 cup pistachios, lightly toasted
20 fresh mint leaves
1 tablespoon coarsely chopped dill
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup pomegranate molasses
A handful of fresh blueberries or mulberries or black raspberries
