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| Gluten-Free Cucumber and Tomato Salad for Quick and Easy Summer Meals |
Are you having trouble coming up with easy, yet colorful, gluten-free side dishes for your summer barbecues, picnics, and other outings?
If so, then you're going to have a lot of fun putting together this cucumber and tomato salad recipe that's perfect for those hot summer days when the oven is totally off-limits.
I created this recipe after attending a barbecue at a friend's home.
That barbecue was a potluck style affair, so I got to see a couple of new ideas for whipping up tasty gluten-free salads. Although the salads served were not gluten free, it was easy to convert them into safe and tasty dishes that hubby and I could enjoy at home.
It wasn't hard.
I just substituted the dressing for something that didn't have gluten and tossed in a few extra ingredients that were safe, such as black olives and some diced red onion.
I wanted to use some cubed avocado, but the avocados we had didn't ripen in time to use in the salad.
I just substituted the dressing for something that didn't have gluten and tossed in a few extra ingredients that were safe, such as black olives and some diced red onion.
I wanted to use some cubed avocado, but the avocados we had didn't ripen in time to use in the salad.
Summer Salads are Versatile
The beauty of this cucumber and tomato salad is its versatility.
You can use any fresh vegetables or lightly steamed vegetables you like.
I'm thinking that artichoke hearts, cold green beans, or even a few sliced water chestnuts would make great additions to the tomato and cucumber, as would pieces of cooked bacon or even some whole-kernel corn.
Use whatever you have in the house or whatever you like. There's no need to go out and buy fancy ingredients.
You can use any fresh vegetables or lightly steamed vegetables you like.
I'm thinking that artichoke hearts, cold green beans, or even a few sliced water chestnuts would make great additions to the tomato and cucumber, as would pieces of cooked bacon or even some whole-kernel corn.
Use whatever you have in the house or whatever you like. There's no need to go out and buy fancy ingredients.
Gluten free should taste good, but it doesn't have to cost a lot.
We bought the Roma tomatoes for this salad from our local Hispanic store for less than $1 a pound.
If you'd rather use tomatoes from a standard grocery store or even your own backyard, it will probably take 4 or 5 tomatoes to make a good-sized salad.
I chose Roma over other tomato types, since they are meatier.
The English cucumbers can be replaced with two regular sized cucumbers, as well.
The olives were left over from our latest pizza and needed to be used up, but they added a special touch to the salad.
We bought the Roma tomatoes for this salad from our local Hispanic store for less than $1 a pound.
If you'd rather use tomatoes from a standard grocery store or even your own backyard, it will probably take 4 or 5 tomatoes to make a good-sized salad.
I chose Roma over other tomato types, since they are meatier.
The English cucumbers can be replaced with two regular sized cucumbers, as well.
The olives were left over from our latest pizza and needed to be used up, but they added a special touch to the salad.
The dressing is just a standard three-bean salad dressing that I adapted. I normally use a similar dressing with bean salad and then allow the salad to marinate in the refrigerator for 3 days, but tomatoes won't hold up to that.
I left out the beans and just marinated the veggies for a few hours instead. I also increased the spices since I wasn't marinating it as long.
I left out the beans and just marinated the veggies for a few hours instead. I also increased the spices since I wasn't marinating it as long.
We were so impressed by this salad that it's going to become a regular at our house from now on.
Quick and Easy Cucumber and Tomato Salad Recipe
Dressing Ingredients:
- 3 tablespoons oil
- 3 tablespoons cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1/2 teaspoons Mrs. Dash Garlic & Herb Seasoning
- 1 teaspoons Italian Seasonings
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper
Salad Ingredients:
- 2 Roma tomatoes, cut into large chunks
- 1 English cucumber, peeled, sliced, then halved
- 1 cup red onions pieces
- handful of black olives
- 1 avocado cut into chunks (optional)
This looks really good! Gluten is not an issue in our house, but the doc wants me to watch the carbs (I've narrowed it down to mostly breads, pasta and sugar - I can eat them, but have cut waaayyy back). This recipe will fit nicely - thanks!
ReplyDeleteI love so much that you used olives left over from a pizza bake! Now I'm really curious about salad dressings that have gluten in them. I'm not one who has to avoid gluten, but I always thought it pertained to wheat and other gluten-containing grains. Gluten in salad dressing--that's a new one on this old bird! Oh, and just a suggestion, but you could marinate all the veggies the way you like and just add the tomatoes near the end, before serving. If you want that tomato juice flavor in the marinade, you could always squeeze the juice from one tomato into the mix. Any way you dice it, this is a lovely, nutritious, eye-catching salad.
ReplyDeleteGood Seasons dry Italian dressing mix has wheat in it. In fact, you'll find wheat and barley (presence of barley doesn't have to be on the label, which can make it difficult to know what's safe) in lots of products that you wouldn't think it would be there. Thanks for the ideas. Adding the tomato last is a good idea. That would work better for avocado as well.
DeleteGood Seasons dry Italian dressing mix has wheat in it. In fact, you'll find wheat and barley (presence of barley doesn't have to be on the label, which can make it difficult to know what's safe) in lots of products that you wouldn't think it would be there. Thanks for the ideas. Adding the tomato last is a good idea. That would work better for avocado as well.
Delete