FOOD NEWS
Ina Garten's Trick For The Creamiest Cucumber Salad
BY KAREN HART
Creamy, crunchy cucumber salads are a delicious and light summer side dish or meal. Chef Ina Garten adds an extra step to her recipe to make it creamier and less watery.
Since cucumbers have a lot of moisture, a cucumber salad can quickly become a soggy mess if it sits around while the cucumbers slowly expel their water content.
Garten removes excess moisture from the onions and cucumbers in her recipe by mixing them with salt and placing them in a colander perched over a bowl.
She wraps the whole contraption in plastic wrap and places it in the fridge for four hours. All the excess liquid from the veggies will drain into the bowl.
Garten also removes excess water from the plain yogurt she uses in the dressing. She lines a sieve with a paper towel and spoons the yogurt in so it can drain.
The yogurt has to strain for at least four hours, so plan ahead. Pat the cucumbers dry one last time, then whip up a salad that is sure to be crunchy and creamy instead of soggy.