Description
Crisp cucumbers tossed in a creamy yogurt dressing with garlic, lemon, dill, and black pepper. Toasted pumpkin seeds add extra crunch and a rich, nutty contrast to the cool, tangy dressing.
Yield: 4 side salads | ½ cup + 2 tablespoons (150g) dressing (2½ tablespoons [38g] per salad)
Prep Time: 40 minutes, including some waiting time
Storage: dressed cucumber can be stored for a few hours, but will also become more watery. To maintain crunch, you may wish to not add the pumpkin seeds until ready to eat. The dressing can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.
Ingredients
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C), spread the pumpkin seeds out in a single layer on a baking sheet/pan, and toast for 5 to 7 minutes. Monitor carefully to prevent burning. Cool once toasted.
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Meanwhile, thinly slice the cucumber. I'm using a mandoline for this. Place the cucumber in a medium-sized mixing bowl, sprinkle with some of the salt, toss, add more salt, and repeat until all salt is used. Set aside for at least 30 minutes for water to leach from the cucumber.
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Meanwhile, combine the remaining ingredients, i.e. the dressing ingredients, in a small bowl. Set aside to allow flavors to meld. You will have some free time here to prepare other components of your meal while waiting for the cucumbers to sweat and the pumpkin seeds to toast.
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Drain the liquid from the cucumber and rinse it well to remove some of the salt. Place the cucumber in a single-ish layer on a clean dry kitchen towel. Top with another towel and pat/press dry.
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Place the cucumber in a medium-sized mixing bowl or large salad bowl, top with the dressing, and toss until all cucumber is thoroughly coated.
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Divide the salad equally between 4 bowls or side plates and top with the pumpkin seeds (about 2 teaspoons per bowl).
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Enjoy soon after preparing. Optionally, sprinkle with additional pepper and dill (or other herbs).
Notes
- Macros are going to vary quite a bit depending on which yogurt you use. Some yogurts are quite high in carbs and low in protein. Look for a low-carb, high-protein option. I'm using Alpro plain no sugar soy yogurt. Yogurts made with nuts, especially coconut, will contain quite a bit more fat/calories than the yogurt I've used.
- Toasting pumpkin seeds is optional, but I highly recommend the crunch and depth of flavor toasting brings. They can also be bought toasted in some supermarkets or online.
- Yes, this is a lot of salt. Much of it will be washed away.
- Feel free to add mint. Mint is commonly included in tzatziki.
- Macros for this recipes are calculated with American national nutritional data (i.e. NCCDB & USDA entries in Cronometer) for all ingredients apart from the pumpkin seeds (Bob's Redmill), yogurt (Alpro), and nutritional yeast flakes (blend of Bob's Redmill & Foods Alive unfortified) .
- Macro numbers are rounded. Numbers equal to or greater than 10g are rounded to the nearest whole number (e.g. 10g, 11g, 12g, etc.) and numbers below 10g are rounded to the nearest 0.5g (0.5g, 1g, 1.5g ... 9g, 9.5g). Any numbers below 0.5g are given as is (e.g. 0.1g, 0.2g, etc.). Calories are rounded to the nearest multiple of 5.
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