Many cucumber salads are dressed with some combination of salt, acidity (such as vinegar or lemon juice) and something tangy and creamy. (Sour cream is commonly used in Germany, Scandinavia and the Midwest; buttermilk in the South; and yogurt in the Mediterranean, Southwest Asia and South Asia.) This recipe skips the first step of salting by instead substituting pickles — cucumbers fermented in salt and vinegar — in place of raw cucumbers. They’re still crunchy, but also pack a fierce punch. Eat this salad alongside something rich, like grilled meats or schnitzel, or in a sandwich with deli meats, tinned fish or boiled eggs. While most pickles work, half-sour pickles are especially refreshing. (Avoid bread and butter pickles, which are too sweet.) Smashing the pickles opens them up to absorb dressing, and the act of doing so is just plain fun.
Ingredients
Yield: 4 servings
- ½ medium red onion, thinly sliced
- 4 whole pickles (or 16 spears), plus 1 tablespoon brine (if half-sours, add vinegar)
- 2 celery stalks, thinly sliced
- ¼ cup sour cream
- ¼ cup chopped dill fronds and stems
- 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
Preparation
- In a medium bowl, stir together the red onion and pickle brine.
- On your cutting board, whack the pickles with a meat mallet or the back of a wooden spoon, then rip into ½-inch pieces. (If using spears, simply rip them into ½-inch pieces.)
- Add the smashed pickles to the bowl, along with the celery, sour cream, dill and mayonnaise. Stir vigorously until creamy and combined. This salad is best eaten right away. (It can be refrigerated up to one day, but the dressing will start to get watery.)
variations:
- add garbanzos for some protein
- add soft tofu for contrast and generously shower with black pepper
- mix pickles and fresh cukes
source: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1023251-smashed-pickle-salad