Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
Refreshing Italian cucumber salad recipe with radish and fresh mint. Tossed in a lemon garlic dressing for a pocketbook-friendly summer side dish.
Try it with your next backyard gathering!
Cucumbers and radish almost go together naturally in the summer, at least for us.
It also looks elegant in a fancy serving dish, perfect for any backyard gathering.
We grow Mentha, also called Mint, every year, but don’t put it in the ground.
If you know anything about mint, you know that it will grow and won’t stop as it has a network of runners that keeps giving but is very aromatic.
We have grown both garden mint and lemon mint, although many species of mint exist worldwide.
Opt for putting it in a relatively medium to large garden pot with enough room to grow.
The results are always too much, but we use them well.
Paying $1.99 for a small packet at the shops hurts the budget, so growing it is our number one option.
You can pick up packages at the dollar store for $0.50, and no effort is required except water and partial shade, but enjoy plenty of sun.
If you have friends who grow Mint, I’m sure they’d be happy to give you some, as they likely have far too much.
Mint Has Many Uses
- Alcoholic beverages such as the mojito, Grasshopper, and mint julep.
- To garnish specific recipes, such as lamb.
- Tea, Jelly, Syrup, Candy, Ice Cream, etc.
- Aromatherapy essential oils were once used as a room deodorizer by spreading them around the floors and stepping on them to release the smell.
- Insecticides such as mint Oil to kill wasps, hornets, ants, and cockroaches
- Medicinal remedies such as stomach pain and chest pains
When the summer rolls around, you can’t stop your nose from smelling all the BBQs flaring up in and around the neighborhood.
Oh, come on, you know you’ve done it and wish they would invite you over.
You know that steak on the Barbie smell, and then you sniff it and close your eyes simultaneously.
Then you ask yourself, “Why doesn’t it smell like that when I barbecue.”
You never know when a neighbor may pop around and invite you to a backyard party, so be ready with some fabulous summer fresh salads.
One of our other favorite salads is Mr.CBB’s Cold Tuna Pasta Salad.
It’s a no-brainer, frugal, and relatively easy to make, as are all our salads.
If your garden is overflowing with tomatoes or you load up as they go on sale, often try my Fresh Tomato salad with Basil, Fennel, and Chickpeas.
This salad is a hit every time we take it to a party.
How To Make An Italian Cucumber Salad Recipe
Create a healthy and elegant Italian cucumber salad recipe with radish, mint, and a garlic lemon dressing. Perfect for any summer occasion on a budget #cucumbersaladrecipe
Ingredients
- 1 large seedless cucumber
- 6 red radishes
- 1/4 cup of fresh mint leaves, washed and chopped
- 1/4 cup red onion minced
Cucumber Salad Recipe Dressing
- 1/4 cup of Italian extra virgin olive oil
- 1 fresh medium lemon juiced
- 2-3 cloves of fresh garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 1 teaspoon of fresh cracked black pepper
Preparation
- In a bowl, slice your cucumber not too thin but about 1/4 inch thick.
- Slice the radish fairly thinly, then add it to the bowl with the cucumber.
- Mince up your red onion and add to the cucumber and radish.
- Wash and rinse the fresh mint and slice into a chiffonade.
- In a jar, combine the dressing ingredients and give it a shake. Taste for consistency and adjust salt as needed.
- Add the dressing to the bowl and mix the salad so everything is coated with the dressing.
- Serve at room temperature after 15 minutes for optimal flavor.
Healthy Italian Cucumber Salad Recipe
Create a healthy and elegant Italian cucumber salad recipe with radish, mint, and a garlic lemon dressing. Perfect for any summer occasion on a budget. #cucumbersaladrecipe
Ingredients
- 1 large seedless cucumber
- 6 red radishes
- 1/4 cup of fresh mint leaves, washed and chopped
- 1/4 cup red onion minced
- Cucumber Salad Recipe Dressing
- 1/4 cup of Italian extra virgin olive oil
- 1 fresh medium lemon juiced
- 2-3 cloves of fresh garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 1 teaspoon of fresh cracked black pepper
Instructions
- In a bowl, slice your cucumber not too thin but about 1/4 inch thick.
- Slice the radish fairly thinly, then add it to the bowl with the cucumber.
- Mince up your red onion and add to the cucumber and radish.
- Wash and rinse the fresh mint and slice into a chiffonade.
- In a jar, combine the dressing ingredients and give it a shake. Taste for consistency and adjust salt as needed.
- Add the dressing to the bowl and mix the salad so everything is coated with the dressing.
- Serve at room temperature after 15 minutes for optimal flavor.
Hello, just dropping by to Thank You for the “like” on my bog site. Also liked this recipe, hit the farmer’s market again this weekend. They had an over abundance of cucumbers, tomatoes, & radishes. This salad will fill the bill. 🙂
Yes it’s that time of year and with an abundance of these vegetables it’s great to come up with new recipes. Thanks for dropping in.. Sunday is recipe day here at CBB!!! You’re welcome for the LIKE..I’m always on the hunt for something new and exciting to share with my fans!!! Cheers Mr.CBB
I like that you’ve provided a list of uses for mint. I enjoy it in some sweets, infused into green tea, or mixed with other flavours (like orange zest and vanilla) and infused as an herbal tea. We also enjoy freshly dug new potatoes that have been boiled with a little mint in the cooking water.
Thanks, I try to give a little history behind ingredients now and then. I enjoy learning just like the next person. This is why i love to blog, simply for the free education that I am giving myself that I otherwise likely would not have. Cheers..
I have some catmint in my garden, given that it’s so pretty I don’t mind it roaming a little. If it gets too far it gets weeded out. We used to make a cucumber salad when I was a kid, very simple. Thinly slice the cukes, soak in salt water for a couple of hours or more( my grandma held that you had to soak it overnight to soak out the “poison” from the cukes).Drain and rinse. Add some thinly sliced onion and make a sour cream dressing for it. Mom and I always made a poor man’s version of the sour cream dressing….. plain salad dressing (Miracle Whip maybe) thinned out with left over sweet pickle juice. Amounts are up to you…..how many are you feeding and such. I save the pickle juice after we eat the pickles so I have the juice to use instead of dumping it down the drain. Enjoy!
Funny you mention that as I do use it but not often enough. I was going to ask the fans what they do with pickle juice! I will do that….. remind me in case I forget…I just think we should find ways to use it instead of dumping it. Cheers Mr.CBB
Thanks so much for linking to my Cucumber, Radish, & Chick Pea Salad! 🙂 I LOVE the idea of mint – will totally be making your version next!
You’re welcome… we love chick peas and use them often and thought we would try out your recipe as well. I hope you get a chance to browse around. Cheers Mate.. hook up on facebook and come say HI! Cheers Mr.CBB
This salad looks amazing! I love the the addition of the mint 🙂
It is we already started eating more salads now including cucumbers…. we love them. Very healthy