When I was younger, my family made friends with a family who had moved here from Russia.  Among the many wonderful foods they served us on our visits (did you know that borscht isn’t always made with beets?), was a very simple salad. We’ve never been able to duplicate the exact flavor, but the recipe is simple indeed.

Russian Salad:

Simply take 1 or more cucumbers depending on how much salad you want- peel, and cut into slices approximately 1/4-1/2″ thick. Cut those in half to make half circles.

Slice several tomatoes (preferably romano) into thin wedges.

Thinly slice some onion into the bowl.

Chop some fresh dill into the bowl.

Sprinkle with olive oil, salt, and black pepper to taste. Toss and serve.

Keep in mind that if you plan to refrigerate or leave the salad sitting out for long, you may not want to add the salt right away, and may need to scoop the tomato innards out before mixing, otherwise you’ll have a lot of liquid left over.

Alternative: My father sometimes substitutes sour cream for the olive oil and adds a little crushed garlic. It’s very, very nice.