Cabbage and cucumber salads - general principles of cooking
Light, refreshing, juicy cabbage salad with cucumber should try to cook each hostess. The fair sex is especially fond of this dish because of its low calorie content, a lot of useful vitamins and substances and an extraordinary bright taste. Such a salad is good to cook and eat in the hot summer, but in winter the dish is also indispensable - vitamins contained in vegetables increase immunity and strengthen health.
Another indisputable advantage of cabbage and cucumber salad is the low cost and availability of products. Especially lucky for those who have a cottage - just go out in the summer to the garden and gather fresh young cucumbers, cabbage and any fresh greens. For the preparation of cabbage salad with cucumber, a wide variety of cabbage varieties are used: regular white cabbage, Beijing cabbage, kohlrabi, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, etc. Cucumbers are taken only fresh, otherwise it will turn out to be a completely different dish. Vegetable should not be sluggish, too large, high in seeds or with a thick skin. It is better to choose young cucumbers of medium size, fresh and crispy.
Cabbage and cucumbers are perfectly combined with all sorts of fresh herbs: parsley, dill, lettuce, basil, green onions, coriander, etc. Cabbage salad with cucumber can be supplemented with cheese, eggs or other vegetables (for example, tomatoes, radishes or peppers). Some cooks prefer to cook a more substantial, meaty version of the dish (with the addition of turkey meat or chicken, with lean ham, etc.).
The basic principle of cooking cabbage salad with cucumber is cutting vegetables in the form of a certain form, combining all the ingredients and dressing with butter or sauce. For filling cabbage salad with cucumber, you can use any vegetable oil (olive, sunflower, sesame and others), lemon juice, low-fat sour cream or yogurt, mayonnaise. Vegetable oil is preferable among those who adhere to a special diet.
Cabbage and cucumber salads - preparation of products and dishes
Cabbage salad with cucumber is best cooked in deep dishes, in which it is convenient to mix all the ingredients with the dressing. Fresh vegetables should be thoroughly washed, dried and cut in accordance with the recipe. Usually for this dish to heat the vegetables do not need. Cucumber is desirable to peel, but some omit this moment. Other ingredients for the salad should be boiled (for example, eggs or chicken), let them cool and chop accordingly. At this preliminary preparation of products, as a rule, ends.
Recipes for cabbage and cucumber salads:
Recipe 1: Cabbage and Cucumber Salad
Due to the low content of calories, salad can be consumed in unlimited quantities. The dish will give you a fresh summer taste and a great mood for the whole day.
Ingredients Required:
- White cabbage is half a small fork;
- 2-3 fresh cucumbers;
- Parsley and dill;
- Clove of garlic;
- Salt, black pepper - to taste;
- Any vegetable oil - 2 tbsp. l
Preparation Method:
Wash vegetables thoroughly. Cabbage thinly chop, cucumbers cut into strips. Wash and chop greens. Garlic very finely chopped. Before you combine all the ingredients, a little salt prune and mash your hands (to give juice). After that, put all the ingredients in a deep salad bowl, pepper and fill with any vegetable oil (sunflower, olive or corn).
Recipe 2: Cabbage salad with cucumber and eggs
Another kind of fresh vegetable salad. The dish is quite nourishing due to the eggs that make up it.
Ingredients Required:
- 2 eggs;
- 2 cucumbers;
- Beijing cabbage - 1 small head;
- Parsley;
- Low Fat Mayonnaise;
- 1 onion;
- Vinegar, salt, pepper.
Preparation Method:
Cabbage and cucumbers should be washed well and cut into thin strips. Onions cut into thin half-rings and put in wine vinegar for pickling, leave to marinate for half an hour. Greens should be washed, finely chopped. Boil eggs, cool, cut into small cubes. All components combine in a deep salad bowl, mix thoroughly. Ready cabbage salad with cucumber to fill with low-fat mayonnaise, salt and pepper.
Recipe 3: Coleslaw with cucumber and ham
Such a "meat" version of the salad will especially appeal to men. The dish is not only healthy, but also very tasty and satisfying.
Ingredients Required:
- Young white cabbage - 350 g;
- Chicken ham - 300 g;
- 2 fresh cucumbers;
- Garlic-flavored crackers;
- Mayonnaise (preferably lemon);
- Dill, black pepper, sea salt.
Preparation Method:
Wash cabbage leaves, chop into thin strips. Peel cucumbers, cut into strips. Cut ham into small pieces. Dill finely chopped. All the ingredients put in a salad bowl, pepper, salt and season with mayonnaise. Just before serving, add croutons to the plate. You don’t need to do this before - the croutons will soften and become tasteless. Ready cabbage salad with cucumber can be decorated with sliced in half olives.
Recipe 4: Coleslaw with cucumber and bell peppers
This wonderful vitamin salad is easy to prepare and can be stored in the refrigerator for several days.
Ingredients Required:
- White cabbage - 1 kg;
- 1 large Bulgarian pepper (orange);
- 3 fresh cucumbers;
- 1 tsp. salt, 1 tbsp. l Sahara;
- 2 tbsp. l vinegar, 3-4 tbsp. l vegetable oil;
- Dill.
Preparation Method:
Middle-sized cabbage shred, put in deep dishes, salt, add sugar and vinegar. Dill finely chopped, put to the cabbage. Cabbage with dill mix, mash a little hands. Cucumbers and Bulgarian pepper cut into thin strips, add to cabbage. Ready salad dressing with vegetable oil and mix.
Recipe 5: Coleslaw with cucumber and crab sticks
Very tender and deliciously delicious salad. The dish is prepared quickly and easily. Great snack for every day or for a holiday.
Ingredients Required:
- Packaging of crab sticks - 200 g;
- 2 eggs;
- Fresh cabbage - 300 g;
- Half a can of canned corn;
- 1 large fresh cucumber;
- Mayonnaise.
Preparation Method:
Crab sticks cut into cubes, hard boiled eggs, cool and also chop. Cabbage nashinkovat thin straws. With corn, how to drain the water. Cucumber peel off, cut into cubes. All ingredients are mixed in a salad bowl, season with mayonnaise. The finished dish can be decorated at will with any fresh greens. Salt and pepper - to taste.
Cabbage and cucumber salads - secrets and useful tips from the best chefs
There are several secrets and subtleties, given which, you can make a really delicious cabbage salad with cucumber. If young cabbage is taken to prepare the dish, after cutting it is recommended to wring it with salt and hands - so it will give some juice, and the salad will become more tasty. If the cabbage is not very young, it can be scalded with boiling water and immediately placed in cold water. In general, the longer the salad is infused, the tastier and juicier it will be (salt should have time to soak all the ingredients). However, in this case, the appearance of the dish is slightly spoiled.
Cucumber must be felt in the salad, so cooks do not recommend grating it on a grater. It is best to cut it by hand or using a food processor. Before cutting, it is important to taste it, as a bitter sample can get caught and spoil the whole dish. If, however, the cucumber is slightly bitter, and the salad is already sliced, you can add a little lemon juice and cranberries. Acid a little “brighten up” bitterness.
When choosing cabbage, you need to pay attention to its appearance. If brown spots are found on the leaves, it is better to refuse to purchase such a vegetable. If the forks of cabbage weigh a little more than it seems, such an instance is fine. It should also be borne in mind that later varieties are considered the most delicious and most suitable for fresh consumption. It is also believed that late cabbage varieties have the least amount of nitrates and other accumulated harmful substances.
