agurksalat

agurksalat

If you’ve been following my recipes, you already know how much I love all things Norwegian. The warm and generous nature of the people, the beauty of the land, and the fabulous, fresh, honest, and bountiful food made my time living in that country a real-life fantasy.

This agurksalat, or cucumber salad, is a simple dish that can become strangely addictive. The balance of acid from the vinegar with the sweetness of the sugar, and the fact that it’s so light and refreshing, makes it hard to stop eating it. Agurksalat is served alongside so many dishes and is found on every elaborate spread, but one never tires of seeing it on the table.

Agurksalat takes minutes to put together, but it’s best made a few hours in advance, to give the cucumbers time to marinate and the flavors to marry.

Ingredients:

• 1 English cucumber—those long skinny ones wrapped in plastic wrap

• ½ cup water

• ½ cup white vinegar

• 3 tablespoons sugar

• 2 teaspoons kosher salt

• ¼ teaspoon ground white pepper

• ¼ cup fresh dill fronds, chopped

Method:

• In a small saucepan, combine the water, sugar, and salt, and heat it until the sugar and salt are completely dissolved. Remove from the heat and allow it to cool.

• While the liquid is cooling, slice the cucumber very thinly. There’s no need to peel it first.

• Add the vinegar, the dill, and the white pepper to the pot and stir to combine well. Transfer it to a bowl.

• Add the cucumber slices to the dressing—you want to be sure that it’s fully cooled (you don’t want to cook your cukes) and that all the slices are submerged.

• Store the agurksalat in the fridge, covered, for at least several hours and up to three days before serving.