A super easy and simple salad is this lettuce and cucumber salad. I like to serve mine with parmesan shavings or you can add extra’s like parmesan shavings, tomatoes or crunchy bacon bits.

Lettuce and cucumbersalad

Lettuce and cucumber salad

Back in the day when we would eat lettuce at home, it would always be a regular butter cup lettuce. That was before the time when you all of a sudden could buy lettuce in a bag and before the time that everyone started eating iceberg lettuce. I don’t like iceberg lettuce.

It is watery and uninteresting in taste. You can make me happy with arugula, but also with virtually all other types of lettuce out there. And thank goodness they are appearing in more and more varieties these days.

Gone are the days of iceberg lettuce!

Lettuce and cucumber salad

So simple

This recipe is so simple you hardly need a recipe for it, but it is the dressing that makes it perfect. I made this recipe for the Donna Hay challenge that I had set myself ages ago. I never got past number 23, but the idea was originally to make all the recipes from one single magazine from Donna.

I didn’t think it through too long though, as part of the magazine was 8 whole chicken recipes, an equal number of bread puddings and thankfully also this delicious lettuce and cucumber salad.

For this particular recipe I chose to cut the cucumber in ribbons, as it looks so pretty. Obviously you can cut it anyway you want. The lettuce and cucumber salad won’t taste any different for it if you do.

Ricotta salata

The original recipe used ricotta salata which is a pressed firm, salted ricotta. It is not something that you can find easily here in the Netherlands. Although I have to admit I didn’t look too hard to find it. I figured the recipe would be delicious with parmesan shavings, cucumber and the lettuce.

It’s the ultimate simple salad recipe but you can of course make it as fancy as you want. I would highly recommend using the butter lettuce as that is so good. Arugula would work but that is so much different in taste that it is hard to replace one for the other.

The recipe is very light so not exactly good for a lunch that will keep you going for a bit, but it is a perfect little side dish for when you’re having a summer barbecue. Or make it a bit more filling by adding some chicken to it.

As this is a really basic salad it is really easy to add additional items to it. Think about adding things like tomatoes, feta or crunchy bacon bits. None of that is entirely necessary but it will make the salad more filling and better suited for something like a lunch.

Can I make the salad beforehand?

No the butter cup lettuce is not strong enough to withstand heat or transportation. Make it fresh and eat it right away?

Can I use a different kind of lettuce for this salad?

Yes you can. If you must you can use iceberg lettuce or lamb’s lettuce. I wouldn’t use arugula as that can be a bit too strong for this simple salad. But you could use it in a mix of different lettuce types.

Butter cup lettuce and cucumber salad
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4.50 from 4 votes

Lettuce and cucumber salad with lemon dressing

The original recipe uses ricotta salata, which is a pressed firm, salted ricotta which you can find in some delicatesse shops.
Cook Time: 10 mins
Total Time: 10 mins
Servings: 4 people

Ingredients

  • 1 butter cup lettuce leaves separated
  • 1 cucumber thinly sliced lengthwise
  • 70 gr parmesan shaved
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp Dijon mustard
  • 1/2 tsp caster sugar
  • sea salt and cracked black pepper

Instructions

  • To make the lemon dressing, place the lemon juice, oil, mustard and sugar in a bowl, sprinkle with salt and pepper and mix to combine. Set aside.
  • Place the lettuce, cucumber and parmesan in a bowl, drizzle with the lemon dressing and toss to combine.
Course: lunch, Salad
Cuisine: Dutch
Keyword: lettuce
Diet: vegetarian
Author: Donna Hay

Nutrition Information

Calories: 149kcal, Carbohydrates: 4g, Protein: 7g, Fat: 12g, Saturated Fat: 4g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 6g, Cholesterol: 12mg, Sodium: 298mg, Potassium: 225mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 2g, Vitamin A: 1542IU, Vitamin C: 7mg, Calcium: 233mg, Iron: 1mg

Disclaimer

The nutritional values above are calculated per portion. The details are based on standard nutritional tables and do not constitute a professional nutritional advice.

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