Strawberry Cucumber Salad with Creamy Lemon Dressing

This Strawberry Cucumber Salad with Creamy Lemon Dressing is a salad with a surprise!  A pinch of cardamom heightens the natural sweetness of strawberries and raises it to gourmet status!

If you’re looking for a salad that’s just a little different, you’ll love this Strawberry Cucumber Salad with Creamy Lemon Dressing. It’s crisp and refreshing, but it has a surprise element that you don’t expect when you first see it.

Cardamom!

A pinch of ground cardamom heightens the flavour of strawberries and enhances their natural sweetness even more.

What is cardamom and what does it taste like?

Cardamom is a spice used in cuisines all over the world. It is slightly spicy, a little nutty, very aromatic and unique. It is sold either ground or in its original pods. Both types will work perfectly in this recipe, but if you want the most intense flavour, buy the pods, open them up and grind the tiny seeds inside.

Go easy. Too much cardamom will overpower your strawberries. Remember–you can always add more, but you can’t take it away!

This strawberry salad spells summertime to me! Salads with berries like this Triple Berry Mixed Green Salad have so much flavour, colour and interesting texture!

I used all ingredients from my garden:  strawberries, cucumber, basil and I tossed a few edible flowers on top, just for fun.

This Strawberry Cucumber Salad with Creamy Lemon Dressing is perfect for spring and summer.

Make it for:

• Mother’s Day
• Canada Day
• the 4th of July
• Potlucks
• Deck parties
• or any casual summer meal!

Head to your farmer’s market to pick up some fresh strawberries. Hull and quarter them, toss with sweetener and cardamom and set aside while you slice the cucumbers, toast a few almond slices and whisk the dressing ingredients.

The Creamy Lemon Dressing is so simple to make. Whisk together some Greek yogurt with a little sweetener and some lemon zest and thin with a spoonful of cream or milk to make it pourable if the Greek yogurt is very thick. So easy but so tasty!

Don’t forget to add the toasted almonds on top! They’re made much more interesting by adding a sprinkle of cayenne pepper and a pinch of salt.

Can I make this Strawberry Cucumber Salad ahead of time?

Yes . . . and no.

You can certainly prepare all the components ahead of time. Cucumbers have a way of turning watery when they sit for a while, so to avoid this I suggest doing what I did for a recent potluck.

I sliced the cucumbers, quartered the strawberries and tossed them with sweetener and cardamom, combined the ingredients for the dressing, and toasted the almonds. I packed all the components in reusable containers, and assembled the salad just before serving time.

Savour the flavours of summertime with this strawberry salad!

Strawberry Cucumber Salad with Creamy Lemon Dressing

This Strawberry Cucumber Salad is a sweet salad with a surprise!  A pinch of cardamom heightens the natural sweetness of strawberries and raises it to gourmet status! 

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Course: Salads and Dressings

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 18 minutes

Servings: 4

Calories: 96kcal

Author: Flavour & Savour

Ingredients

Salad

• 2 cups strawberries, hulled and quartered
• 1 long English cucumber, sliced
• 1 tsp maple syrup, or sugar
• 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
• 1/4 tsp sea salt

Creamy Lemon Dressing

• 1/4 cup Greek yogurt
• 1 tsp maple syrup, or sugar
• 1/2 tsp lemon zest

Topping

• 1/4 cup flaked almonds, toasted
• 1/2 tsp olive oil extra virgin
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper
• 1 pinch sea salt
• fresh basil for garnish

Instructions

• Prepare all components of this salad in advance, and assemble just before serving or the cucumbers will become watery.

  Toss quartered strawberries with maple syrup, cardamom and salt. 

  Slice cucumbers.

  Toast almonds in a skillet over medium heat with 1/2 tsp oil, just until they begin to brown. Remove from heat, toss with cayenne and salt. Cool.
  
• Combine Greek yogurt, maple syrup and lemon zest. Thin with a little cream or milk if too thick.
• Arrange sliced cucumbers on a serving platter. Sprinkle very lightly with salt. Top with strawberries and toasted almonds and drizzle with Creamy Lemon Dressing.
  

Nutrition

Calories: 96kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 4g | Sodium: 163mg | Potassium: 282mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 80IU | Vitamin C: 44.8mg | Calcium: 53mg | Iron: 0.7mg

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This recipe was adapted from Bon Appetit.

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