This watermelon radish and cucumber salad with red onion and fresh dill is a classic combination of ingredients for serving as a summer side dish.
Bring this salad to a family barbecue or get together, or serve it for lunch on a hot summer day for a refreshing, cooling, and nutritional dish.
To clear up any confusion, this salad recipe does not call for watermelon, but rather watermelon radishes, which are these gorgeous and slightly sweeter version of radishes. They are bright red in the center and greenish white around the outside. Before I knew what they were, I used to call them "inside out" radishes.
Ingredients in This Salad:
Watermelon Radishes: Watermelon radishes get their name, not because they taste like watermelon, but because they look like mini watermelons with their red interior and greenish exterior. They are larger in size than standard radishes and are slightly sweeter in flavor. They can be eaten raw out of hand, in salads, pickled, and roasted with other vegetables.
Evidently they are Chinese in origin. You can use them anywhere you would use standard radishes.
Mini Cucumbers: These cucumbers are also known as Persian cucumbers. They have very few seeds and a very thin skin. There is no need to peel or seed them. They are fabulous in salads and are tasty eaten on their own or as part of a crudité appetizer. You can even add a spear to a gin and tonic or Bloody Mary, or muddle a slice or two in a gin martini, especially with Hendrick's gin.
Note: I received both the cucumbers and radishes from Melissa's Produce.
Red Onions: Thinly sliced.
Fresh Dill: Lighly chopped.
Seasonings: Salt and Pepper.
For the Dressing: Seasoned rice vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, honey or agave syrup, and garlic powder.
To Make This Salad:
First, prep the cucumbers and radishes by washing them and then thinly slicing them. The watermelon radishes are fairly large so you can either halve or quarter them so that the slices match the cucumber slices in size.
Next, place the cucumber slices in a colander and sprinkle them with salt. Let them sit for about 15 minutes to draw off any excess water. Pat them with paper towels.
After that, combine the radishes, cucumbers, and red onion slices. Toss them with the dressing ingredients and then sprinkle the salad with freshly ground black pepper and fresh dill.
Recipe Variations:
Instead of the vinegar dressing, you could substitute a creamy yogurt-based dressing. You could also substitute a red wine or sherry vinegar for the rice vinegar.
For the watermelon radishes, you can use standard radishes, and for the mini cucumbers, you can substitute English cucumbers. Some folks prefer to peel the cucumbers if the skin is thicker.
Make-Ahead and Storage:
This recipe is best made fresh and served the day that it is made. You can assemble everything and then dress the salad about 20 minutes before serving.
Rest assured, if you have leftovers, they will remain tasty for three or four days. The salad will get a bit watery and might require some draining, but it will still be delicious.
You May Also Enjoy:
Tomato, Cucumber, and Red Onion Salad
This week, the Sunday Funday group is sharing recipes for cookout ideas! Our host is Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm.
Cookout Recipes:
- Caprese Pasta Salad from Amy's Cooking Adventures
- Eggless & Gluten Free Orange Pots from Sneha's Recipe
- Green Goddess Dressing from A Day in the Life on the Farm
- Spicy Barbecue Sauce from Food Lust People Love
- Sweet and Savory Party Mix from A Messy Kitchen
- Viral Japanese Cheesecake from Mayuri's Jikoni
- Watermelon Radish and Cucumber Salad from Karen's Kitchen Stories
Watermelon Radish and Cucumber Salad
This watermelon radish and cucumber salad with red onion and fresh dill is a classic combination of ingredients for serving as a summer side dish.
Ingredients
- 3 mini cucumbers, thinly sliced
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3 to 4 watermelon radishes, halved or quartered, and thinly sliced
- 1 medium red onion, peeled and thinly sliced
- 3 tablespoons seasoned rice wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon honey or agave syrup
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh dill fronds
- Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Toss the sliced cucumbers with the salt in a colander and let sit for 15 minutes to drain. Dry the cucumbers between layers of paper towels and then place the slices in a large bowl. Add the radishes and onion slices to the bowl.
- Whisk together the rice vinegar, olive oil, honey, and garlic powder. Drizzle the ingredients over the sliced cucumbers, radishes, and onion slices. Toss everything together.
- Sprinkle the ingredients with the fresh dill weed and toss. Season with freshly ground black pepper and salt to taste. Serve.
Nutrition Facts
Calories
81Fat (grams)
5 gSat. Fat (grams)
1 gCarbs (grams)
8 gFiber (grams)
1 gNet carbs
7 gSugar (grams)
5 gProtein (grams)
1 gCholesterol (grams)
0 mg